Pride
by PercyJackson67
Summary: Seeking revenge for his father's demise, as well as aspiring to surpass his father's power, Lucipher, son of Asmodeus targets the Scooby Gang in his plot to destroy the world. Sequel to my other Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction: Lust
1. Chapter 1

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

Chapter 1-

A month after Willow's and Tara's wedding, which came only two short weeks after Faith and Buffy's own wedding, both couples were still adjusting to the life of marriage. They each did absolutely everything with their spouses, which was no different than before, but they took it to new extremes.

Dawn was showing no signs of improvement, according to the psychologists working on her. Apparently, her enslavement to Asmodeus had droven her too far past the point of insanity for her to recover. Buffy and Faith visited her nearly every day, for at least two hours.

"My Lord shall rise again, and you will all die, or be enslaved by the King of Desire!" Dawn screamed every time they went to visit.

"Dawn, it's okay, Asmodeus is gone, for good. You don't have to worry about him anymore." Buffy tried, as she did each time, to calm Dawn down.

And, as usual, Dawn screamed and argued.

"NO! SHE IS SUPREME! SHE IS THE ULTIMATE! SHE CANNOT DIE!" Dawn continuously switched back and forth between referring to Asmodeus as "he" and "she", due to the confusing gender changes the demon went through.

"No, Dawn. Willow got rid of him. He's dead. You're free. You don't have to be scared anymore." Buffy ended up in tears, as usual.

"B, I don't think she's scared." Faith said, her arm around her wife.

"Of course she is, Faith. I'm still a bit scared, too. I know you still are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You had the nightmare again last night."

"How do you know?"

"I know you better than you think, Faith. Plus, you talked in your sleep."

"Well, I'm not the only one. You're still having the nightmares, too."

"I know. Asmodeus traumatized us all."

"Well, that one too. But I was talking about the "Drusilla killed Dawn" nightmare. I'm not the only one who talks in my sleep."

"It's gotten to the point where I don't even remember having that nightmare when I wake up. When was the last time?"

"Two nights ago. You punched me awake, and struggled to fight off vampire mom again. You know, for a nice old lady who died because of a brain anyu-something instead of a vamp attack, she makes one tough vampire."

"Not funny, Faith."

"Lighten up, B. Look, aside from the vamps we stake on patrol, there hasn't been any danger since Asmodeus. We're actually catching a break for now. That vampire who almost killed Dawn hasn't shown her face, either one of them, in more than eight years, ever since she almost killed Dawn. And with no more "Big Bads" coming our way right now, if Drusilla does pop up, we'll be able to concentrate more on taking her out. I say that we should enjoy this while it lasts. Sure, Dawn's in the Loony Bin, but at least she's safe. We have the house to ourselves now that Willow and Tara have their own place, so we can finally enjoy being together."

Buffy was silent for a minute. "You're right. I'm sorry, I've just got a bad feeling, like this peace isn't going to last much longer."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Too good to be true, right?"

"Exactly. I'm probably jinxing us by saying this, but I feel like any minute now, someone's going to show up, claiming to be the next big bad, and we'll have yet another fight on our hands. Either that, or one tiny little vampire's going to have a really good day, and somehow manage to kill one of us, and I'm scared to death that it's going to be you." Buffy leaned against Faith, the tears still coming.

"Hey, I feel the same way. Every time we go out on patrol, I find myself wondering if this is it, if this is going to be the one that one of us, if not two or three of us, kicks the bucket."

"Faith..." Buffy began, then stopped.

"What?"

"Well, I've been thinking... What if we...?"

"What?"

"What if we quit? We can get normal jobs during the day, go home every night, and lock the doors. We won't invite any vampires in, so we'll be safe from them, and Will and Tara could do some kind of protection spell that keeps demons away from our house. We could send for another Slayer to work Sunnydale. Now that every Potential is an actual Slayer, they should have some to spare. One of them could take over for us, help Kendra on patrols, because you just know she's not giving it up."

"B." Faith warned.

"And we could bring Dawn home, take care of her there, maybe being home will do her some good."

"B."

"Maybe, when we're ready, we can adopt a kid. Maybe a little girl. "

"B."

"And we'll have a white picket fence, like the ones in the movies, a dog or two in the backyard, two-stall garage with brand new cars for both of us."

"B."

"And we'll grow old together, and live long, happy lives, and still be having hot, steamy sex when we're in our sixties."

"Buffy." Faith startled her by using her full name. "I want all of that with you, you know that, but it's not likely going to happen. We're Slayers, it's who we are, it's in our blood. We can't just quit. Even if we try, they'll still come for us. The bad guys don't care if we're retired, they'll try to kill us just the same, and if they do learn that the Slayers are retired, they'll take the opportunity to invade Sunnydale, and it won't be safe for any of us anymore."

"But-"

"No. No buts. It won't happen, B. And even if it could, it's all I know. I don't think I could just give it up. And deep down inside, you feel the same way. You know I'm right about all this."

"I know... But I don't like it."

"I don't either, but that doesn't change the fact that it's true. It's just the luck of the draw, and we got the bad end of it. Though, if it weren't for the slaying, we wouldn't know each other. It brought us together. So I can't complain too much."

"Yeah. Me neither."

"HE IS COMING! THE LORD OF PRIDE IS COMING!" Dawn screamed gleefully, and something rang a bell in Buffy's head, but she couldn't figure out what.

"Let's go, B." Faith said, seeing the pained look on Buffy's face that always accompanied their visits to Dawn.

Buffy and Faith stood up, kissed Dawn on the forehead, and walked out.

"Still no better?" Willow asked when Faith and Buffy stopped by after their visit.

"No improvements whatsoever. I'm beginning to think that she's never going to recover." Buffy sighed.

"Well, that's what you guys all thought about me after Glory did her little finger-thing on me." Tara said. "But I recovered, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but that was tied directly to Glory. You recovered when Glory was beaten. It's a full year later now, and Dawn still hasn't recovered." Buffy argued.

"Well, we've just got to hope." Willow said comfortingly.

"I hope you're right, Will."

"Well, down to the real reason I dragged B over here." Faith said. "I was wondering if the two of you wanted to go out tonight with me and B?"

"Sure. We haven't had a date night since... Juno knows how long." Willow said.

"Juno?" Faith asked.

"Roman Goddess of Marriage and Unity." Tara explained.

"Oh. So... yes?"

"Yes. Tara and I would love to go out with the two of you."

"Sweet. Waddya say, B?"

"I could use the distraction. I need to have some fun. I'm in."

"Alright, it's a double-date." Faith smiled, then kissed Buffy.

"Why not make it a triple-date?" Tara asked.

"Triple?"

"With Kendra and Oz."

"Kendra and Oz?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. Apparently they're dating now."

"Wow. Didn't see that coming."

"Yeah. It was a bit of a surprise. So, wanna invite them along, too?"

"Nah, let's let them be a couple for a while before inviting them along." Faith said.

"Good idea." Willow said.

The four of them chatted for a while before they decided to leave. They all headed straight for the Bronze.

Maroon 5 was playing that night. They walked in during _Moves Like Jagger_.

"Damn! They've got some good dance music tonight!" Faith said as the song came to an end.

"All right, lets kick it up a notch!" Adam Levine said as th band played the first few notes to _Makes Me Wonder._

"Okay, B, to the dance floor, immediately." Faith said as she dragged Buffy along.

_"I wake up with bloodshot eyes, struggled to memorize the way it felt between your thighs, the pleasure that made you cry. Feels so good to be bad, but not worth the aftermath after that, after that. Try to get you back. And I still don't have the reason. And you don't have the time. And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a fuck about you."_

Buffy got into it immediately, turning her back to Faith and pressing herself up against her. She moved her hips to the music, grinding her butt against Faith's core, their arms in the air.

Faith's leather pants did a good job at hiding her arousal, but Buffy could tell due to the jerkiness of Faith's movements that she was very turned on, probably wetter than Niagra Falls.

_"Give me something to believe in, 'cause I don't believe in you anymore, anymore. And I wonder if it even makes a difference to try."_

Buffy pressed her back up against Faith's chest, and felt her nipples rock hard through her red t-shirt.

Buffy lowered her arms, then put them behind her to grip Faith's waist and pull her even closer. Faith's breath caught in her throat.

_"Goddamn my spinning head, decisions that made my bed. Now I must lay in it, and deal with things I left unsaid. I want to dive into you. Forget what you're going through. I get behind, make your move. Forget about the truth."_

Faith dropped her own arms to Buffy's waist and the two of them synchronized their movements, swaying together wildly. They could feel Willow's and Tara's eyes on them, along with everyone else's eyes in the club within sight.

_"I've been here before. One day I'll wake up, and it won't hurt anymore. You caught me in a lie. I have no alibi. The words you say don't have a meaning. 'Cause I still don't have the reason. And you don't have the time. And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a fuck about you and I. So this is goodbye."_

Buffy's hands slid back to Faith's ass and squeezed it, pushing her up against her even more, until the two were almost fused together. Faith was sweaty under the hot lights, and her breathing was erratic, almost like they were having sex back at home.

Faith squeezed Buffy's waist hard, trying to stabilize herself.

_"Give me something to believe in, 'cause I don't believe in you anymore, anymore. And I wonder if it even makes a difference to try. And you told me how you're feeling, but I don't believe it's true anymore, anymore. And I wonder if it even makes a difference to cry. So this is goodbye."_

Buffy turned around quickly and faced Faith. She saw the lust in her eyes and took comfort in knowing it wasn't because of Asmodeus' magic.

Buffy craned her neck to kiss Faith passionately, not caring about the hundreds of pairs of eyes upon them, watching them. All that mattered was that Faith was there, and they weren't under any spells, or being attacked.

The song ended, and the band started another fast-paced song that was decent dancing music.

"Alright, this one's called _Misery._" Adam Levine said into the microphone, and the club cheered. Two guys walked up to Buffy and Faith, trying to get them to dance with them.

"Hey there, ladies. Let's dance." One of them said.

"No thanks." Faith replied, then turned back to Buffy.

"It wasn't a question." The other guy said, crossing his arms threateningly. They were both confident, beefy guys, very muscular. They didn't stand a chance against the girls.

"I said no thanks." Faith repeated.

"Oh, come on, we're willing to pay. How much would you say two hours is worth?"

"What, you think we're prostitutes?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Well, why else would you two be dressed all skanky and cheap, and trying to draw every man's attention in the club with your little lesbian charade?"

"Um, because we wanted to dance together?" Faith replied.

"That's it, whore! I don't take kindly to a whore turning me down, you hear?" The first man said as he grabbed Faith by the hair.

"Let go of her hair, if you know what's good for you." Buffy growled. Faith just crossed her arms and watched.

"Why don't she say it herself? Your corner partner have to fight your battles for you?" He said to Faith.

Faith didn't respond, only watched Buffy with a wicked grin.

"So what do you say to a foursome?" The other man asked confidently, like there was no way they'd refuse.

"Sorry, I don't share my wife." Buffy said, and showed them their matching wedding rings.

The two men looked shocked for a second, then smiled.

"Well, looks like we're about to have a foursome with some bona fide lesbians."

"Not happening." Faith said, but didn't move.

"Did you not hear me? I said let go of her hair." Buffy warned again.

"Or what? You gonna bend over and suck me to death?"

Buffy was behind the guy before he could blink, fliped over on her hands and grabbed his head with her feet. She flipped back over onto her feet, throwing the guy across the room, then wiped her hands on her jeans.

The other man stepped forwards as if to punch Buffy, but Faith caught his fist and squeezed. He dropped to his knees, tears of pain in his eyes. She bent his wrist upwards and forced him to the ground so he could eat the floor.

"Don't you dare touch my girl." Faith said so only she, Buffy and the man on the floor could hear.

Faith kissed Buffy, and when they pulled apart finally, they realised the entire club, including the band, was staring at them. Everyone cheered, then stopped as Adam Levine spoke.

"Hey, you two!" He pointed to Buffy and Faith. "Come on up here!"

Buffy and Faith shrugged at each other, then climbed up on the stage.

"I don't know if you know me, but my name is Adam Levine. I just want to say good job standing up for yourselves down there. Gays, lesbians and bisexuals are all severely mistreated today, and many ofthem are afraid to stand up for themselves. So, if it's alright with you two, I'd like to pay for your tab for the night. Anything you and your two friends down there making googly eyes at each other want, it's on me."

"Dude, thanks!" Faith said.

"It's no problem, man, seriously. Is there any song you'd like to hear?"

"_She Will Be Loved._" Buffy blurted out. She'd always liked that song, plus it was a decent song to slow-dance to.

"Alright." He smiled, then turned back to the crowd as Buffy and Faith got off the stage. "We're going to dedicate _She Will Be Loved_ to..." He looked down at them, asking their names.

"Buffy and Faith."

"Buffy and Faith! If you know the words, sing along. If you don't, then at least act like you do, okay?" Everyone cheered, except the two jerks Buffy and Faith had knocked out.

_"Beauty queen of only 18, she had some trouble with herself. He was always there to help her, she always belonged to someone else. I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door. I've had you so many times but somehow I want more."_

Buffy pulled Faith close and rested her head on her chest, her hands interlocking behind her. Faith's hands rested on Buffy's waist, her head resting on Buffy's. Willow and Tara came onto the dance floor as well, mirroring Buffy and Faith's position with each other. Everyone else stood back and watched for the moment, letting the two couples have their moment.

_"I don't mind spending every day out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile. Ask her if she wants to stay a while. And she will be loved. She will be loved, oh."_

A few other couples stepped out on the floor and slow danced to the song as well, though most of them still stood back.

_"Tap on my window, knock on my door. I want to make you feel beautiful. I know I tend to get so insecure, it doesn't matter anymore. It's not always rainbows and butterflies, it's compromise that moves us along, yeah. My heart is full and my door's always open. You can come anytime you want."_

Suddenly, as if on cue, the floor was full again, nearly the entire club moving with the music.

_"I know where you hide alone in your car. I know all the things that make you who you are. I know that goodbye means nothing at all. She comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls. Tap on my window, knock on my door. I want to make you feel beautiful... I don't mind spending every day out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile. Ask her if she wants to stay a while. And she will be loved. She will be loved. And she will be loved. She will be loved._

_ "Please don't try so hard to say goodbye. She will be loved, oh."_

"Thank you!" Adam Levine shouted, and bowed.

Tired, Buffy, Faith, Willow and Tara all went and sat down, listening to Maroon 5 do a few more songs, then pack up. Adam Levine came over to them after their set was done, and sat down.

"Hey, what you guys did there earlier, that was amazing. I had a friend a while back who was gay, and he got picked on and pushed around all the time, but he was a pacifist, and never stood up for himself. Well, eventually, he was pushed too hard, and he actually commited suicide because of it. I think it's awesomethat you guys can stand up for yourselves. Honestly, I saw those two jerks picking on you two, and I almost dropped the mic, jumped off stage, and beat the crap out of them, or at least got sent to the hospital trying. By the way, where'd you guys learn to move like that?" He asked them.

"Um, well, it's kind of just doing what felt natural. Dancing's just kind of instinctual." Buffy said.

"I don't mean the dancing, I figured that much. No, I meant where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Like B said, it's kind of instinctual. Just did what felt natural. Plus, we've both kind of trained with martial arts."

"Well, if you don't mind me saying, that was hot, man. Now, don't go thinking I'm just another one of those perverted assholes who gets off on watching two girls like that. But come on... Faith, is it?"

"Yeah." Faith said, almost growling.

"Right, Faith. Tell me that when... uh... Buffy? Yeah, Buffy. Tell me that when you saw Buffy do that little flip thing, then throw that jerk across the room, you didn't get a little excited."

"Yeah. Of course I did." Buffy blushed as Faith replied, putting her right arm around the blonde.

"That's what I mean. Then, when you brought that guy to his knees just by squeezing his fist. That was some serious Jackie Chan shit. I can tell you two are perfect for each other." Adam said with a smile.

"Thanks." Buffy smiled, and Faith's scowl relaxed once she realized Adam wasn't trying to talk them into a threesome.

"Now, I've met you two, but who, may I ask, are you two?" Adam said, turning to Willow and Tara.

"Um... T-T-Tara." Tara stuttered.

"I'm W-W-Willow."

"Well, Willow and Tara. I saw you two together on the floor, too. I take it you two are also together?"

"Y-y-y-yes." They both stammered.

"Well, I don't know a thing about you two, but just looking at you, I can tell you two are a good fit."

"Thanks." Tara finally got over the stuttering.

"So what are you guys up to?"

"Just having a good time." Faith said as she took another shot of Jack Daniels.

"I can respect that." Adam said as he downed the rest of a glass of beer.

"I like a man who can hold his liquor." Faith said seductively, and Buffy smirked. It was a game between them.

"Nice try. I know you're gay, remember?" Adam smiled back.

"Actually, I'm bisexual. I like guys and girls."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well I'm still not falling for it. Your girlfriend's right there."

"Wife."

"Wife? You're married?" Adam said, surprised.

"Yeah." Faith replied, holding up her hand to show the wedding band.

"Congradulations." He said.

"Thanks."

"So, you guys catch a lot of shit about being gay?"

"Well, kind of. Depends on who finds out. A lot of girls look down on us, most guys get off on us. I mean, not _on us_, but... you know what I mean. Mostly, though, people don't seem to care. And I'm bi, remember?"

"Well... you know what I mean."

"Man, flirting's no fun when they already have me figured out!" Faith whined to Buffy.

"There there there." Buffy said, sarcastically patting Faith's back.

"Smart ass." Faith replied with a smirk.

"You know it."

"I might just have to wipe that attitude off your face, B."

"What are you waiting for?"

Faith pulled Buffy in for a deep kiss, both of them moaning into it, trying to make Adam uncomfortable, but he was unfazed.

"It's not going to work, guys. I know that game. I've got lesbian friends who do the same things. I'm used to it."

"Damn it." Faith said, and Buffy pouted. Willow and Tara giggled.

"Well, remember, your tab's on me tonight. Get whatever you want, get drunk off your asses, drain this place of all alcohol, I don't care. I'm paying. Now, I've got to get going. Got to help the guys finish packing up. We'll be back tomorrow night, though. If you wanna come. We've also got a concert in L.A. next week. I can get you tickets and backstage passes, if you want. Being the lead singer has its privileges."

"No thanks." Willow said. "To be honest, I'm not much of a fan." Tara nodded in agreement.

"That's okay, what about you two?" He asked Buffy and Faith.

"We could certainly use a vacation, even for only a day or two." Faith said to Buffy.

"I'd like that. If it's really no trouble, I mean." Buffy said to Adam.

"Nah, no trouble at all. Here's my number." He said, writing it down on a napkin. "Just call me." He said, then left.

"That was awesome." Faith said after he disappeared into the crowd.

"Yeah." Buffy agreed as another band took the stage. It was a local group, not widely known, but they had a fairly large following in Sunnydale. They played at the Bronze from time to time.

"Alright!" The singer shouted. "We are Reaper's Night!"

The lead guitarist played a slow, soulful rock tune, and was joined by the drums, and the bass.

_"Why is it that death and dyin' sets our mortal souls a-flyin'? I think we're all tired of tryin' to change... Roarin' like a mighty lion, stronger than the strongest giant, I think life is all but fryin' our brains._

_ "Like the man wearin' a black cloak, barely survivin', hearts are hollow. Tearin' us apart even though we're strong. Hold on to me and I'll hold on to you. Tangled up, we can pull each other through. Yeah, we can do anythin' we set our minds to."_

Everyone remained seated, enchanted by the dark melody being played by Reaper's Night.

_"Bring me to my knees and I'll pray. Let me live just one more day. Babe, I just need you to stay with me... For now I guess this is goodbye. But without you I will surely die. I think I will at least try to be free._

_ "Like the man wearin' a black cloak, barely survivin', hearts are hollow. Tearin' us apart even though we're strong. Hold on to me and I'll hold on to you. Tangled up, we can pull each other through. Yeah, we can do anythin' we set our minds to."_ The singer backed up and started nodding his head as the lead guitarist launched into a solo that lasted about forty-five seconds long, then he stepped back up to sing again.

_"Yeah hold on to me and I'll hold on to you. Tangled up, we can pull each other through. Yeah, we can do anythin' we set our minds to. _

_ "Hold on to me. I'll hold on to you. We can do anything we set our minds to. Yeah, we can pull each other through. The man in a black cloak. There's no tearin' us apart no more."_ Everyone in the club cheered and screamed as the music faded to a stop, and the singer took a bow.

"That was _Man in a Black Cloak._" He said, and everyone cheered again. "Next, we'll play you a new little tune we came up with just a few days ago. This one's called _Bloodstained Blade._"

The guitarists moved their guitars around to their back and stepped up to the backup mics. The singer sat down at a piano to the side of the stage.

The drummer started tapping on his drums slowly and softly. Soon, they heard three notes moving up the scale repeated over and over again from the piano. Then, the backup singers joined in, humming into the microphones.

_ "Tie me up, throw me in a trunk. Drive away, my eyes are taped shut. We're far away, and no one can hear my cry. You cut me up, and slowly I die._

_"You left a bloodstained blade in my heart when you left me there. I think I finally realize that you never cared. And the pain you left me in is so hard to bare. Your fingerprints are on the handle of the bloodstained blade you killed me with._

_ "You killed me, broke my heart in two. My soul was broke, and it's all thanks to you. I'm doin' better than I was back then. You stabbed my back, and you stabbed it again._

_ "You left a bloodstained blade in my heart when you left me there. I think I finally realize that you never cared. And the pain you left me in is so hard to bare. Your fingerprints are on the handle of the bloodstained blade you killed me with._

_ "I'm gonna take this blade that you drove through my heart. Gonna drive it through you, tear you all apart. Someday you'll realize my pain, and I'll never feel it again. I'm gonna take this blade that you drove right through me. Gonna do my best to make you see just what you did to me._

_ "I'll leave a bloodstained blade in your heart when I leave you there. And you'll finally realize that I no longer care. The pain I leave you in will be so hard to bare. Won't leave my fingerprints on the bloodstained blade that you killed me with._

_ "That bloodstained blade. That bloodstained blade. That bloodstained blade. That bloodstained blade. That bloodstained blade. Yeah, you killed me with that bloodstained blade."_

Everyone cheered again. Buffy glanced over at Willow and saw her starting to nod off tosleep, so she told Faith and Tara that they should probably leave. They told the bartender that Adam Levine was going to pay their tab, and he nodded, saying that it had already been paid.

When they got outside, both Faith's and Buffy's senses came on, and they were instantly on guard as they looked around for the threat.

The two guys that had been messing with them earlier came out of the shadows, black and blue, followed by four other guys. They were all wielding various weapons: chains, baseball bats, broken bottles, knives, etc.

"You thought you got the best of us? Hah. Think again, girlies." The man Buffy had thrown said with a sneer.

They all charged them at once, swinging whatever weapon they had at them. Buffy grabbed the chain with her right hand and slung it around the baseball bat, then pulled on it , smashing both men's heads together. Faith grabbed the wrist of the man with the knife and pulled him in, slamming her elbow into his face. The man with the broken bottle hesitated, giving Buffy a chance to punch him in the gut, and he doubled over, dropping the bottle. Faith bent down to grab the bottle, but that gave one of the other men a chance to bash her in the back with a brick. Buffy got distracted by Faith's cry of pain, and the other guy wrapped his chain around her, holding her so she couldn't move.

She was forced to watch as the other guys got back up and started beating Faith up. They took turns kicking her, and the brick had done so much damage to her back that she couldn't even try to resist. Buffy struggled as hard as she could, but another man had come up behind her and helped the other man hold her back.

She cried out as Faith coughed up blood, and the men continued to kick her. She suddenly began wondering where Tara and Willow were, then remembered that they had had to go to the bathroom inside.

Faith received one last kick, and one of the men came over and spat in Buffy's face.

"Remember this next time you turn me down, whore."

Buffy was knocked behind the head with the brick, and she fell to the ground, nearly unconscious. She barely had time to witness someone jumping the men from behind, and knocking them all out.

** Well, here it is. The long-awaited (meaning only a couple days after) first chapter of Pride, the sequel to my other Buffy fanfic: Lust. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't worry, I'll be getting to the supernaturally bits in the next chapter. In the meantime, anyone wanna guess who just beat up the assholes? Tell me your guess in the reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

I just realized I never put a disclaimer in the last chapter. I'm not sure if it's actually required, I don't remember reading about them in the guidelines, but I'm going to play it safe, so here's the disclaimer: Ahem. I OWN NOTHING! (Except for the two songs sung by Reaper's Night in chapter 1. I wrote those myself.)

Chapter 2-

Buffy woke up in a bed. It wasn't her bed, nor was the room. She didn't recognize anything around her except the clothes she was wearing. Whoever had brought her here hadn't changed her. Good. That would have been too much of an invasion of her privacy.

The grogginess was wearing off. She began rememnering what had occured last night. An awesome band had played at the Bronze. Maroon... 5? They were followed by another band, not as good, but decent. Kinda creepy, though. Adam Levine paid for their drinks. That was unusual. Faith, Buffy, Willow and Tara had begun to leave, but Willow and Tara went to the bathroom. She and Faith waited outside the club for them. The jerks who had been hitting on them earlier in the night came back with a few friends and beat the crap out of Faith. They had made Buffy watch.

Then, out of nowhere, someone had fought off the assholes as Buffy fell into unconsciousness.

Buffy sat up in bed, looking for Faith and the others. She was alone, as far as she could tell. Her vision was slightly blurry and she had an outstanding headache.

"About time you woke up." She heard a familiar male voice say. She couldn't place it, though, and she didn't see him when shelooked around again. Finally, her vision adjusted enough to make out a form sitting in the corner opposite her in the shadows.

"Hello?" She said slowly, making sure she could actually speak. Her mouth felt numb.

"Hey. You're Buffy, right?" The male said, still sitting.

"Yeah. How do you know my name?"

"I heard that man from Maroon 5 say your name and Faith's when you were on stage last night. Plus, Faith hasn't stopped saying your name since we found you."

"Faith? Where is she?"

"Relax. She's fine. Relatively, anyway. I mean, she'll live, but she's got several broken bones, bruises, and she's got a concussion. She _was_ bleeding internally, but her Slayer healing caused that to fade quickly. She's nearly comatose, though. You got the far better end of the deal, though. You've just got a concussion and a few bruises."

"Who are you? Come into the light."

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because I'll burn."

"What?"

"Wow. You're either really groggy, or not really a Slayer. I'm a vampire." Buffy tried to get out of bed, but he just chuckled. "Don't worry. You're safe. Besides, you're still in pretty bad condition. You'd hurt yourself if you tried to kill me. And I don't like seeing my handiwork go to waste."

"_You_ patched me up?"

"You and Faith both. If it weren't for me, you'd both be laying dead in an alley right about now."  
"You were the one who rescued us?"

"Now you're catching on."

"There's a change. A vampire rescuing a Slayer."

"Two."

"Two vampires?"

"No. Two Slayers. Only one vampire. Then there's another Slayer. And a witch."

"What?"

"There were three of us who rescued you. Me, my sister, and my girlfriend. My sister's a Slayer, and my girlfriend's a witch. They're keeping an eye on Faith."

"I'm confused."

"Me too. I don't know why I'm different from other vampires, I just am. I've only been a vampire for a couple years, ever since my sister became a Slayer. Kinda ironic, if you ask me."

"Huh."

"Yeah. I got bit in front of my sister, died right there. The last thing I remember seeing before I died was this white light, and I was thinking I'd get to go to heaven. Then, I find out it's just the opposite. And the... thing that killed me, it turned into a pile of dust after it bit me. I found out that my sister had grabbed the nearest thing to her that could pass for a weapon, a branch. It broke, and she accidentally stabbed him in the chest with it. He turned into dust, and I woke up. I was a vampire, but not like the one that had just killed me. I don't know what's different, but something is."

"How do I know I can trust you."

"You don't. But, then again, I don't know if I can trust you, either. But that didn't stop me from patching you and your friend up."

"Wife."

"Excuse me?"

"She's my wife."

"Wait, you two are married?"

"Yes. By California state law, two people of the same gender can legally be-"

"I know that. I just... wow. Didn't expect you two to be gay."

"Bisexual. We're bisexual."

"Doesn't make a difference. You two are still married, therefore, in everyone else's eyes, you're- You know what, I don't see why we're talking about this. I've got questions, you've got answers, and vice versa. But first, you need to eat. Tania,my girlfriend, she made some breakfast for all of you, not sure whether you two'd wake up today or not. She wanted to be prepared."

"Okay." Buffy winced trying to get up, and the door burst open.

"Don't kill my brother!" A blonde girl no more than sixteen burst into the room, stepping between Buffy and the boy in the corner.

"What?"

"It's okay, Carollyn. She knows." The boy stood up, making sure to stay in the shadow.

"Oh. Well, Tania said she could feel the Slayer waking up, so I had to make sure..."

"It's okay. I know. Did you bring me something?"

"Yeah. Here. Still warm for you." Carollyn handed a mouse to the boy, and his face changed. He bit into the mouse and drained it completely. Carollyn took it and threw the corpse into the trach can. "I'm Carollyn." She said, holding her hand out to Buffy.

"Buffy Summers." Buffy shook the girl's hand.

"Care, could you...?" The boy said to his sister, glancing at the window.

"Yeah. Sorry." Carollyn stepped forward and closed the blinds, blocking out the sunlight. He moved around throughtout the room, keeping an eye on Buffy. He was obviously wary of her, and for good reason.

"How long 'til evening?" He asked.

"Two hours."

"How long have I been asleep?" Buffy asked.

"About 22 hours." Carollyn said matter-of-factly.

"Has Faith...?"

"Is that her name? Well, she's still asleep right now. Shouldn't wake up for a while."

"Why didn't you take us to a hospital?"

"Figured you probably hated hospitals. Plus, didn't want to have to explain why you guys were nearly dead last night, and are nearly good as new today." The boy said.

Buffy nodded. "What's your name?" She asked him.

"Jerome." He pronounced it Jer-oh-mee.

"Okay. Well, would you two mind answering a few of my questions?"

"No. But first, you need to eat." Carollyn said, grabbing Buffy's hand and leading her down a flight of stairs to the kitchen. She sat Buffy down at the table and set a plate of bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy in front of her. She sat down across from Buffy and stared at her.

"What?" Buffy asked. Carollyn shrugged.

"What?"

"I don't know, I just asked you. Why are you staring at me?"

"Sorry, you're just beautiful."

"I'm married."

"And I'm not gay. I just recognize beautiful people, and you're beautiful. So, you're married to the girl upstairs?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"The ring. She was wearing a wedding band, but no engagement ring, you're wearing both, and they match hers. Plus, she keeps saying your name, like she's looking for you, but can't find you anywhere. She sounds like she's about to cry each time she says it."

"You're very observant."

"No. I just like looking about jewelry. Plus, I'm an empath."

"A what?"

"An empath. Eat. I'll explain." Buffy nodded and started eating. "I'm able to tell what kind of mood someone's in, and even feel what they're feeling. It's not magic, exactly, I'm not witch. It's more like some part of my brain is just very in-tune with emotions. I can feel your confusion right now, as if it were me being confused. I can also tell that you're not hungry right now."

"Then why make me eat?"

"You don't want to hurt Tania's feelings. She doesn't have total control over her powers, and her emotions influence her magic. It's kind of scary."

"Ah." Buffy finished her food, and Carollyn washed the plate and fork, then put them away. She grabbed Buffy's hand and lead her into the living room. She had Buffy sit down on the couch across the room from Jerome, who was standing in he corner.

"Well? Might as well ask away. I'd prefer to answer both your questions and Faith's at the same time, but chances are, she won't wake up anytime soon." Jerome said.

"Actually, she's awake right now." Another girl, pressumably Tania, walked into the room. Buffy sprang to her feet and ran upstairs. She heard Tania call up the stairs, "Third room on the left!"

Buffy burst into the room Tania had mentioned and saw Faith lying in bed, in bad shape.

"Hey, B." Faith said with a smile when she saw her in the doorway. She winced as she spoke.

"Faith." Buffy gasped, seeing Faith. Her face was black and blue and several shades of green. Both of her eyes were swollen to the size of golfballs. Her arm was shaky as she beckoned to Buffy, and her breathing was ragged.

"You look like Hell." Buffy joked to Faith.

"Nah. I've seen Hell. It's not so bad. I look much worse."

"How do you feel?"

"I'm in pain, obviously. But I'll heal."

"You're upset."

"Well, yeah. I got my ass handed to me last night. Then, when I wake up, the first face I see is a complete stranger, when I wanted it to be yours."

"I'm sorry, Faith. I just woke up not even ten minutes ago myself. Then, they made me go eat before you woke up."

"They?"

"The ones who saved us last night. They fought off the guys last night, and brought us here to heal."

"Why not take us to a hospital?"

"They didn't want to explain the rapid healing."

"Wait, they know about us?"

"Yeah. One of them is a Slayer. The other girl is some kind of witch, apparently. They've got some questions. You feel like answering?"

"Sure. Though, I don't feel like getting out of bed. And I actually feel like I'd be more comfortable if you were in bed with me." Faith smirked.

"No extraneous activities, Faith. I don't want you getting hurt even worse, and in your condition, that would definitely hurt you worse."

"Fine. Just climb into bed. No having fun. Just laying together."

Buffy nodded, and climbed over Faith slowly. She climbed under the blanket with her. They both needed to feel each other's body heat. Not because they were cold, but because they needed to feel that they were alive. The three kids came into the room quietly, not wanting to interrupt anything.

"Sorry. Didn't know you were-" Jerome said, turning away.

"We're not." Buffy interrupted him. "Just laying in bed together."

"Oh. Well, do you two feel like talking?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so we have some questions, and you have some questions. Who goes first?"

"I will." Buffy said. "How are you a vampire that doesn't kill humans?"

"I don't know. That was going to be one of my questions."

"Okay. Well, what are you doing here, in a town with three Slayers?"

"Three?"

"Yeah. There's another one of us."

"Huh. Didn't know that. Well, about three weeks after I got bit, and Carollyn gained her powers, this wierd English guy showed up at our house. He tried to kill me with a cross."

"Crucifix."

"What?"

"The correct term for it is crucifix."

"Well, whatever it was, it burned like Hell. Anyway, he tried to kill me. I tried to fight back, but he had doused himself with holy water, I guess, 'cause I couldn't touch him without smoking up. Carollyn got between us and he backed off, said he couldn't allow harm to come to a Slayer. That's when we learned what she was, er, is. We asked him a few questions. He ignored me completely, only talking to my sister. I don't remember how we got onto it, but he mentioned a small group of Slayers here in Sunnydale. He called himself a Seer or something."

"Watcher?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, that's it. Said he was supposed to train my sister to be a Slayer. He taught her a few things over a couple days, then tested her out against an actual vampire. The vampire got passed her and killed him. She froze up, the vamp nearly killed her, and would have if I hadn't been paying attention to her lessons, and staked him from behind. Just before he died, the Watcher guy told me to bring her here to Sunnydale and search for you guys so you could train her. We got here, and tried asking around about the Slayers, but no one knew anything. Looked at us funny, like we were crazy. Figured out that it was supposed to be kept secret from the mortals.

"Then we tried asking demons, but they all either refused to tell us, tried to kill us, or didn't know. So, we waited around in the cemetaries, hoping one of you would come along. You never did. Well, my sister made friends with Tania while she was shopping, and brought her home. She saw me, could tell I was a vampire, and tried to kill me with a spell out of fear. It didn't work, but we knew then that she was a witch. We explained our situation, and she started hanging out with us. After a while, we started dating. I went to her house one night and heard her playing the guitar. She was awesome. I surprised her by coming up with some lyrics off the top of my head and singing them. That's how we came up with _Man in a Black Cloak_. She taught my sister how to play bass, and her brother plays drums. He only ever hangs out with us during rehearsals or gigs. He doesn't like the fact that his sister's dating a vampire."

"That's where I know you from! You're the lead singer for Reaper's Night!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry, it's just... I've been trying to figure out where I've seen you, and it just hit me. Anyway, continue."

"Well, actually, that's about it. We play at the Bronze every now and again. We have a small following, but we keep mostly to ourselves. I'm just glad we finally found you guys. Once you're feeling better, don't suppose you'd mind training my sister?"

"Yeah, of course." Faith said.

"You joining, too?" Buffy asked.

"Who, me?" Jerome asked, and Buffy nodded. Faith looked at her like she was crazy. "Um, really? A Slayer training a vampire?"

"Well, there's obviously something different about you. I'd at least like to find out what." She replied. Jerome nodded, and Faith agreed. "Just curious, do you guys have a phone or something? I need to call our friends. They're obviously worried."

"Here." Tania handed Buffy her cell phone, and Buffy dialed Willow's number.

"Hey, Will?" She said when Willow answered.

_"Buffy?! Where are you?! Are you okay?!"_

"Not exactly. I'm safe though. Faith is too. She's with me."

_"Where are you?!"_

"I'm safe, Will. I'll come home for a while after while. Faith is in bad shape, though. If it's alright with the people we're staying with right now, we'll probably stay one more night before coming home." Buffy said, mainly to Jerome and the others.

"Well, I don't see why not, though gotta admit, was kinda hoping we'd all head back to your place for a while, get acquainted with everyone before we tell them I'm a good vamp." Jerome said.

"Good point. Nevermind, Will. Um, could you get Giles to bring his car to..."

"1632 Revello Drive." Jerome answered.

"Wait, seriously? That's right next door to us." Buffy said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Nevermind, Will. We're right next door. I'll be there in just a few minutes." Buffy sighed, then hung up. "I'll be right back, Faith."

Buffy kissed Faith on the forehead, then left. Faith couldn't help but smile, watching Buffy's hips sway slightly as she walked away.

"Buffy seems cool." Carollyn said.

"She is. She's hot, too." Faith sighed in disbelief, still unable to completely accept that Buffy was hers.

"Hey, Will."

"Buffy! You look terrible!"

"You should see the other guys." Buffy thought for a moment. "Then tell me what they look like, 'cause I have no idea."

"Where's Faith?"

"Still in bed next door. Remember that second band that played at the Bronze last night? Well, they were the ones that rescued Faith and me. Those guys we knocked out? They came back with some friends, and beat the crap out of us. Reaper's Night came along and beat them off. They tookus to their place because they didn't know where we lived."

"Would they mind if we all came over?"

"I don't think so. Come on." Buffy started for the door when she sensed someone else in the house. Willow and Tara were in the room with her, but it wasn't either of them. It was someone else. "Kendra?"

"She's not here. She's with Oz right now."

"Spike?"

"In his crypt. It's still daylight outside, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Well, who else is here, then?"

Willw fell silent, and Tara didn't say a word as someone cleared his throat behind Buffy. She whipped around and started to punch the intruder in the face when she saw him.

"Xander?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, Buff. It's me." He said solemly.

"But... I haven't seen you since Willow and Tara's wedding."

"I know, Buff. I'm sorry. It just took me a long time to accept the fact that she's gone. Actually, I still haven't. But I heard Will over the machine, and she said you and Faith were missing, so I had to come over to try and help somehow."

Buffy hugged Xander, and he hesitated, then hugged her back. She felt his wet face against her cheek. He was crying.

"Xander?"

"I'm sorry. It's just... I already lost Ahn, I was afraid I'd lost you and Faith too, even though I haven't even really spoken to you since Asmodeus. I promise, though. No more disappearing acts. I'm here to stay. I wanna be there for you guys again."

"Xander..."

"I hear Dawn's still a bit..." Xander whistled.

"More than a bit. She's still just as" Buffy whistled, too. "As she was after Asmodeus."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. There's nothing you can do about it. All we can do is wait." Buffy sighed.

"So how's Faith?"

"Bad shape. Very bad shape. Even her Slayer healing isn't helping much. Those jerks from the club came back and beat her up." Buffy's eyes were glistening in rage. Willow walked over and hugged her.

"Shh, it's okay, Buffy. She'll be fine."

"I know. But I can't believe I'm going to say this. I can't wait until I see those guys again. I want to give them a few pieces of my mind."

"Buffy, no harming the innocents, remember? Isn't that, like, some sort of Slayer code, or something?" Willow asked.

"It is, but those assholes are _not_ innocents. They deserve what's coming to them."

"Buff, you know you'll regret it in the long run." Xander warned.

"I won't kill them, just make them wish I had."

"They're not worth it, Buffy. They're beneathe you." Tara tried.

"So are vampires, and I fight them on an almost nightly basis."

"Would your mom want you doing this?" Xander asked.

"No. But she also didn't want me _dating_ a girl. Let alone the girl that tried to kill me and my friends. Look how that worked out. Faith repented, and now we're married."

"You're going to do this no matter what, aren't you?" Xander asked.

"Yes. You can't convince me otherwise."

"But I'm sure I can." Buffy turned and ran to Faith's side as she stumbled in through the door. Jerome, Tania and Carollyn were trying to support Faith, but she was determined to move around on her own.

"We're sorry. We tried to keep her in bed, but she punched Jerome and pushed Tania and me out of the way." Carollyn explained.

"Who are you guys?" Willow asked cautiously.

"They're the ones who saved us." Buffy explained. "Faith, look at what those men did to you. They almost killed you."

"But they didn't. Sure, the only reason I'm still alive is because we got lucky, but that just means we'll have to make sure we don't just get lucky next time. Point is, I'm alive, and I'll heal. But if you hurt a couple of humans, you'll never forgive yourself. I killed a human, remember? And I _still_ beat myself up about it now and again. And it was an accident for me. You, on the other hand, are ten times worse about hurting humans than I am. If you hurt a person at all, you beat yourself up about it for munths, even if it's just a broken arm or something, and it's an accident. You hurt someone, and I mean _really _hurt someone, on purpose, and you will _never_ forgive yourself, B. Let alone several people. You may think otherwise right now, B, but I know you. And you know I'm right."

Buffy sat down on the couch and buried her face in her hands. She felt Faith sit down next to her, and she could tell Faith was trying hard not to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You are. B, don't get me wrong, I love that you care about me like this, and that you get so worked up over every little scratch I get, but I can take care of myself. Those assholes just caught me by surprise, that's all." Buffy looked at Faith, and her rage all but melted away when she saw her infectious smile.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"Nah. Don't apologise, B. I actually kinda like it when you get all butch like that. It's kinda hot, actually." Faith pulled Buffy in and kissed her until they heard Xander clear his throat, reminding them that they had an audience.

"Xander!" Willow scolded, and he shrugged.

"Well, I'd like to know what happened." He said, looking at Jerome and the others.

"Right." Willow agreed.

"Well," Tania began, "it started at the Bronze last night. We, that is, Jerome, Carollyn and I, are part of a band called Reaper's Night. We were in the audience last night when that band, Maroon 5, was playing, and we saw these two guys try and pick up Buffy and Faith like some common street whores. They beat the guys up, the lead singer of Maroon 5 called them up on stage, and the band paid for Buffy, Faith and their friends' drinks. That would be you two." Tania said, glancing at Willow and Tara.

They nodded in agreement.

"Well, then, it was our turn to play. We played a few songs, and we saw you guys leave, so we packed everything up and left after our second song."

"Why did you leave right after them?" Xander asked suspiciously.

"Because we were hoping they were Slayers." Jerome answered. Xander, Willow and Tara tensed up, ready to attack if they needed to.

"What?"

"No, it's nothing like that. My sister, Carollyn, is a Slayer, too. We were living in Texas when... when she got her powers. Some British guy came to our house a while later, and now I know that he was something called a Watcher. Anyway, he came by and filled us in on some things, like what a Slayer is, and that there was a small group of Slayers here. It's a long story, and Tania hasn't finished answering your other one, yet."

"Right. Well, as we left the Bronze, we saw those guys from the club and a few of their friends beating Buffy and Faith up, so we stopped them and sent them away. We didn't know where to take them besides a hospital, and we knew that if they were Slayers, then they'd heal fast, and we didn't feel like explaining that to the doctors, so we took them back to our place. They stayed the night, and here we are."

"Is that really what happened?" Xander asked.

"That's pretty much how I remember it, thought I was pretty much unconscious for half of it." Faith said.

"Okay, so how about this "long story" of yours, huh?" Willow asked.

Carollyn decided to answer. "You want every detail, or the general idea?"

"Details."

"Okay. Well, like my brother said, I'm a Slayer. But before I got my powers, I didn't know anything about any of that. It happened kind of suddenly. Jerome and I were walking home from the movies one night, and this guy snuck up behind us and attacked us. Jerome tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. We didn't know what he was, but we knew he wasn't human. Jerome pushed me away and told me to get inside, because we were right outside our house, and that he'd hold him off. But the guy grabbed him and bit into his neck. I couldn't move, I was so scared."

"So what happened?" Willow asked, like a little kid being told a bedtime story.

"I watched my brother die. I couldn't do anything. But then, I saw this white light, and I thought that somehow, I was dying, too, but then I felt stronger, somehow. I picked up a branch that I'd been bugging Jerome about getting out of the yard for days, and I hit the vampire with it. He stumbled away from Jerome, and snarled at me. He ran for me, but the branch broke when I hit him, and the pointy end went right through his chest. He turned to dust and faded away. But it was too late for Jeremy. The ambulance got there and took him to the hospital, but the doctor said that he was dead before I'd even called 911."

"But wait, he died from a vampire attack?!" Xander exclaimed and immediately picked up a stake.

"Don't worry, I don't bite... much." Jerome smirked. Xander tried to thrust the stake through his chest, but Jerome didn't even flinch. Xander's hand stopped, mid-thrust, and he saw Tania mouthing words with her eyes closed. She released the magic, and Xander felt his arm relax and fall to his side.

"Xander." Tara warned, and he backed off.

"Yes, I'm a vampire, but, as I told Buffy and Faith, there's something different about me. Don't ask me what, because I don't know. Maybe it's just because I'm related by blood to a Slayer. But I'm not like other vampires. Sure, I can't go out into the sun, or eat garlic, or get holy water on me, and crucifixes hurt like hell, pardon the pun, but I don't feed on humans, and I have no desire to." Everyone noticed Willow looking at him intently, and she stumbled backwards and gasped.

"Will?" Buffy asked. "What is it?"

"He has his soul!"

"How'd he get his soul back?!" Buffy asked.

"No, you don't understand. He never lost it!"

**Well, waddya think?**


	3. Chapter 3

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

I own nothing except Reaper's Night.

Chapter 3-

"What do you mean? How could he not have lost it?!" Buffy shouted, and Jerome spoke up.

"Okay, so my still having a soul, and never losing it, that's a... bad... thing?"

Faith, as usual, kept her calm.

"Nah. Just wierd, is all. It's actually good news for ya. Means I don't have to drive a stake through your chest."

"And that's good, right?"

"Yeah. Gotta tell ya, though, I'm kinda disappointed. I've been layin' in bed all day, kinda itchin' for a slay."

"Right. Very good thing, then."

"Will?" Buffy asked, but Willow was in a trance, staring at Jerome.

"Okay, Red over there is kinda wierding me out." He said with a sideways glance at her. She shook her head and apologized.

"Will, how could he not have lost his soul? He _is_ a vampire, right?"

"Well, yeah. That's definitely there, but he's just like Angel was, and Spike. He's got a soul, but there's no sign of detachment at all. Even in Angel and Spike, their souls seemed kind of separated, kind of scarred, like when you get a cut, and the skin is separated, but then scar tissue grows, covering the wound and reattaching the skin. But there's no scars with him. His soul never left him." Willow said in wonder.

"But _how?_"

"I don't know. Jerome, have you ever been exposed to magic?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I want to try something. If I may?"

Jerome nodded his consent, and Willow had him sit cross-legged on the floor, where she joined him.

"Now, I need you to relax."

"Sure." Willow took his hands and closed her eyes, and he suddenly found himself completely unable to relax.

"I said relax."

"I am."

"No you're not. Relax. Like you're trying to sleep."

"Never had much luck there, even before I was a vampire."

"Try to relax, or this will hurt us both. A lot."

"Yes, that'll help me relax."

Faith got tired of hearing the exchange, so she shot a look to Buffy, who didn't like that look. Faith shrugged, then got down on the ground and kissed Jerome.

Buffy and Tania were both acutely aware of the presence of foreign tongue in both Faith's and Jerome's mouths, and they both simultaneously cleared their throats. Faith got off of him when she felt him relax, then rejoined Buffy on the couch. She glanced apologetically at the blonde, who simply glared back.

Willow was unaware of what had happened, as her eyes had been closed at the time, but she was aware of the newfound tension in the room. But she ignored it and dove into Jerome's mind before he could tense up.

She wove herself into his memories, observing everything Jerome had ever observed from the moment of his birth until the day he died, and was resurrected.

She backed off what seemed like five seconds later, and both of them collapsed to the ground, gasping.

"Willow?" Tara asked as she got up. Willow looked around, and no one else was present, other than the two girls that had come with Jerome.

"How long was I in?"

"Three hours."

"Oh. Okay. You're not going to believe any of this. Get everyone back here. We all need to talk."

"Okay. So, basically, I looked into Jerome's memories, all the way back to the day he was born. Nothing was ever really special about him. He had pale skin even before he was turned, and he got sunburned really easy, but nothing vampiric in nature, other than his obsession with eating meat, which I suppose most normal guys have. But then there was the very night he was turned. Just as the vampire bit into him, there was this bright light all around. A white light."

"Seriously? I thought I imagined that!" Carollyn said.

"And I thought that was the light everyone sees when they died." Jerome said.

"No. It was an actual light."

"So what, Will? It was probably a street light or something."

"No, Buffy, it wasn't. The thing is, I _recognize _that light!"

"What?"

"That same light enveloped me when I cast the spell that awakened the other slayers!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room exclaimed.

"So you casting that spell at the exact moment I got bitten saved my soul?"

"Maybe. Maybe the spell released so much benevolent energy into the atmosphere that it interferred with your transition, and allowed you to keep your soul. If that's the case, there may be others like you."

"What I want to know is if it affected anything else about him." Buffy said, and everyone, even Jerome, agreed.

"I don't know. I couldn't sense anything else different. His heart isn't beating, so that's normal for a vampire, and so is his blood flow, or lack thereof."

"What about his reproductive system?" Tania asked.

"What?" Willow asked awkwardly.

"His reproductive system? Does it work like a humans, or a vampires? Or is there even a difference?"

"Well, if your asking whether most vampires can get it up, ask B here." Faith mumbled.

"Faith, I thought we agreed we weren't going to bring Spike _or_ Angel up again in that context."

"Sorry."

"No, I don't mean... if they can... you know... get an... you know." Tania said, blushing. "I mean, can they... you know...?"

"Have kids?" Willow finished, and Tania nodded. "I don't think so. I think their little swimmers die off when they do. Only, they don't come back as little vampire swimmers."

"What about Jerome?"

"I don't know, but I don't think so. Why?"

Tania pulled out a little white stick and handed it to Jerome. She sat back down and buried her face in her hands.

Jerome looked at the stick and his stomach fell when he saw the little blue plus sign on the end. He looked back at Tania concernedly. He got up and sat down next to her, cradling her in his arms while Carollyn stood off to the side, confused.

"Wait, I kind of figured you two were active, you know, sexually, but if Jerome can't get a girl pregnant, then how are you..." Carollyn stopped. "Oh, I wanna kill him."

"What, what's going on?" Buffy asked. Somehow, she got the feeling Tania wasn't the type to cheat on her boyfriend, and Faith seemed to share that thought.

"Tania?" Carollyn asked her friend, who nodded her consent.

"Tell them." She sobbed.

"Tell us what?" Willow asked, and Tara suddenly caught on. As had Xander, leaving Willow along in confusion.

"You see, a while back, not long after we all met, and Tania and Jerome started dating, Tania was... well, she was..."

"Don't tell me." Buffy said, and Willow finally caught on. Every girl in the house except Buffy and Carollyn understood what Tania was going through. They'd been there themselves a little over a year ago.

"It was over a year ago." Tania cried. "I don't know how I've gone this long without showing any signs, but yesterday morning, I was sick, really sick, like hangover sick, but I don't drink, at all. I hate alcohol, plus I'm underage. But I threw up in the toilet a few times, and I was better by noon. And lately, I've been hungrier than I've ever been, like I've got two stomachs, or something. Finally, I got curious... or terrified, and I got... that." She pointed to the test in Jerome's hand.

Faith was the first to move to sit beside her.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, most of the girls in this house knows what you're going through."

"Really?" Tania asked sarcastically. "You've all been... raped... by demons?!" She yelled the last part, and everyone was very surprised.

The gears were turning in Buffy's head.

"Wait, you were raped by demons more than a year ago?"

"Thanks for summin' that up, B. She needed to hear it again." Faith growled.

"Wait, listen." Buffy said. "How much more than a year ago?"

"Only a little."

"Do you remember a stinging feeling, like a bee sting?"

"Yeah?" Tania said, now wondering how Buffy knew that.

"And did you have a red rash?"

"Yeah?"

"And were you taken somewhere immediately after... you know? Having sex?"

"Yeah?" Tania was now scared at the accuracy of the details Buffy was coming up with. But everyone else in the house was catching on to what Buffy was suggesting.

"One more question, and I know this is hard, but can you remember the name of the demon who took you?"

"Um... I think it was... Astaroth, or something. No! Asmodeus!" The name sent shivers down her spine, as well as Faith's, Willow's and Tara's.

**Well, I've finally got chapter 3 done. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

Chapter 4-

"So Asmodeus... got you...?" Buffy asked quietly.

"No. Asmodeus took me, but he said he had his eyes set on someone else. Some Slayer, but there are thousands of Slayers, right?"

"Yeah." Faith said solemly.

"What? Did I say something?"

"Thousands of Slayers all around the world. Including three of them here in Sunnydale, right on top of a Hellmouth. And of all the Slayers, he had to go for my Faith." Buffys said, just as solemly, and the two Slayers looked at each other.

"Wait... Faith?" Tania asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yup. Faith. He took my Faith. We took her right back, but the thing about Hell dimensions, almost none of them work on the same time scale as this one. From Faith's perspective, she was in Asmodeus' clutches for months before I found her."

"I... I think I remember you..." Tania said.

"What?"

"I think I remember you. You were... you were that girl in front of the portal. You wouldn't let anyone leave until some demon told you where your girlfriend was. I'm guessing that was Faith?"

Buffy nodded.

"Yes."

"Wow. I never thought I'd meet someone else who actually understood..."

"Well, get used to it, 'cause I'm not the only one." Faith said, getting up and walking away. "Red and her wife over there, too. They got taken before I did. And Buffy's little sister. Kinda think of her as my own little sis, too. And another Slayer friend of ours. And our Watcher's wife. Our little gang has a lot of bad blood with Asmodeus."

"Whoa. I'll say. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I mean, if you guys know all about him... And Buffy, you got into his dimension, even though you weren't taken by him, how? How'd you get in?"

"He opened the portal. I just walked through."

"Well, do you know... I mean, is he still... you know?"

"He's gone." Willow said forcefully, though, honestly, every one of them were still terrified that he'd come back.

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm the one that did it."

"How?!"

"Magic."

"You must be some powerful witch."

"Well, I do dabble."

"That's Willow being modest. She's the most powerful witch I've ever known." Tara said in admiration, looking up at Willow, and holding her hand.

"Well, could I ask a favor?"

"What?" Willow asked.

"Would... would you be willing to... teach me? I'd really love to learn from you. I'm sure there's a lot I could learn, and I want to learn, I do!"

"Well, I don't see why not." Willow said, and Tara agreed.

"Thank you." Tania said quietly.

"Well, looks like we've all got our plans. Carollyn, you'll train with us, Tania, you'll learn from Willow and Tara, and Jerome, I've got a vampire I think you should meet."

"Hm?"

"He's a close friend, and he's kind of like you. He's got his soul, too, but he had to get his back."

"But he doesn't kill humans?"

"Nope. He actually fights the good fight. He kills demons, vampires and the like."

"Well, that's comforting. Next thing you're going to tell me, he's dating a Slayer."

"Hey, good guess." Willow said.

"What?" Buffy asked. "I thought you said Kendra was dating Oz?"

"What? I did? Oh, I meant Spike. Spike and Kendra are together. But Oz has found himself a girl. A little Slayer named Kennedy."

Tara's eyes narrowed.

"Kennedy?"

"Yeah. Apparently, not so much with the gay now. The way she has it figured, my rejection got her onto the straight and narrow, if you know what I mean."

"Hm." Tara didn't sound impressed, but she did press herself into Willow more, as if she was marking her territory. Willow didn't seem to mind, though. Buffy lookedaround for Faith, but didn't see her anywhere. She knew where she'd be, though.

Buffy went downstairs and found Faith wailing on a punching bag in the basement.

"Watcha doin?" Buffy asked as she snuck up behind Faith and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Faith couldn't help but smile.

"Practicing how I'm gonna kick your ass next time we fight."

"You know, practicing on a moving target that'll fight back might prove more useful."

"Yeah, well, have you seen the state of the ones upstairs? I think this one can take a harder hit."

"Well, you could always practice on someone who can take an even harder hit."

"Well, I don't feel like it. That's all. I just need to relieve some tension, that's all."

"I can think of an even better way to relieve tension."

"B. Not the time. I've got... him... on my mind. Been more than a year, and his name still gets me. Ain't a soul besides you who has that strong of an effect on me. Though, I think I prefer your effect to his." Faith's tension caused her to punch the bag so hard that it ripped out of the basement ceiling.

"Damn it!" Faith cursed under her breath, and bent to pick it up.

"Just leave it, Faith." Buffy said, grabbing her by the waist and standing her back up.

Buffy's arms wrapped around her waist again, and rested her chin on Faith's shoulder, her breasts pressing into her back. Faith grabbed Buffy's hands gently and relaxed her neck, her head falling back onto Buffy's shoulder, and they swayed back and forth, almost rocking each other. They simply stood there that way, the way only couples do.

Buffy turned Faith around and backed her up until she was sitting on the washing machine. Buffy pushed her legs apart so she could settle in between them, facing Faith. They just stared into each other's eyes for a while, not even noticing when Willow and everyone else walked in and just watched them.

Buffy leaned in and kissed Faith sweetly. It was more of a comforting kiss than a hungry one, though Faith needed no comfort anymore, Buffy's mere presence had relaxed her already.

"I love you, Faith." She said when they separated.

"Love ya, too, B."

Faith slid off the machine and walked across the room, still not noticing the audience. She went over to a stereo and turned it on, one of those rock songs from training montages, like the ones in Rocky. It was their song. Buffy knew exactly what Faith wanted.

"Change your mind?"

"Yeah." Buffy walked over to Faith, and they stood, looking at each other. Then, in the blink of an eye, Faith attacked, her left fist swinging around towards Buffy's head. Buffy blocked the attack on the inside, slamming her wrist into the soft part of Faith's arm while her left fist struck out towards Faith's chest.

Faith stepped back simultaneously, causing Buffy to lose momentum, and softening the blow. She stepped back again and flipped forwards, trying to kick Buffy in the head, but Buffy blocked it, throwing Faith to the ground. Faith landed on her hands, catching herself, and she spun around, tripping Buffy, then leaping at her like a lioness. Buffy brought her feet up and kicked upwards, catching Faith in the chest and sending her flying back as Buffy landed on her feet from the jump. Faith charged at her again, ducking under Buffy's punch and bringing her right fist underneathe for a deadly uppercut.

"What are they doing?" Jerome asked.

"They're doing what every young married couple does." Willow said.

"Beating each other to a pulp?"

"No. Dancing." Tara said, knowing that that's exactly what Willow meant.

"See how they're avoiding the vital strike points when they can, and softening their hits when they can't?" Xander asked.

"What?" Jerome asked.

"Oh, come on, Jer." Carollyn said. "You remember what you learned in Martial Arts, don't you?"

"Care, that was more than two years ago, remember?"

"The vital strike points?" She sighed when Jerome shrugged his shoulders. "The solar plexus, the throat, clavicle, kidneys, heel, neck, eyes, ears, nose, temple and the base of the skull. They're not going for those, and they're giving each other a split-second of a break whenever they accidentally hit there."

"Okay, if you took martial arts, I can understand how _you_ saw those, Carollyn, but Xander? I thought your combat stuff was limited to weapons?" Willow asked.

"It was, as well as standard protocol and stuff like that, but that's all faded. But after that, I thought it was kind of cool, so I took some simple self-defense classes and played a lot of Mortal Combat. You'd be surprised what you can learn. I also watched a lot of martial arts movies when I was locked up in my apartment for the past year." He explained.

Buffy and Faith still hadn't noticed them, they were focused too much on each other.

They were running out of breath and losing stamina, so they knew it was going to end soon, but they still enjoyed every second of it.

They continued to trade blows until they were both glistening with sweat and they couldn't move any more, then they collapsed, Faith landing on top of Buffy. They didn't move for a couple minutes, trying to catch their breath. Finally, Buffy brought Faith up to her face for a very passionate kiss that both of them felt all the way down.

"Gotta say. I think I'm looking forward to learning from them." Carollyn said, and Tania and Jerome looked at her in surprise. "Oh come on! Did you see how good they are?!"

"Care... Is there something we should know?" Jerome asked.

"Oh! No, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant... well, they're awesome! If I end up half as good as them, then I can take anything!"

By this time, Faith and Buffy had finally noticed the audience, and they got up as quickly as they could, which wasn't very quickly at all.

"Right. Anything. Meaning other than any actual threats." Faith grumbled.

"What?" Carollyn asked.

"Yeah, we can take the regular, every day vamps and demons with ease. But when it comes to things like demon hybrids, 200-300 year-old vamps, government agencies, puzzle-piece demons that have to be assembled on delivery, Hell Gods, nerds, politicians, and the First Evil, we almost always come close to losing someone."

"Wow, that's a long list." Jerome said.

"Yeah, I never really paid attention to the number of apocalypses we've averted before." Willow said.

"Excuse me..." Tania began. "I'm sorry, I can understand most of those but... puzzle-piece demons? Nerds? Politicians? Government agencies?"

"Yeah." Buffy said. "Let's see, first there was the Master. He was my first apocalypse. He ended up killing me, which brought Kendra to power as the new Slayer, but then I came back and killed him back. Then there was the time Spike and Drusilla came to town. The first time. Drusilla killed Kendra, and that brought Faith. Kendra was brought back, and Drusilla was run out of town. Then Angel went evil, for reasons we're not going into right now, and he brought the Judge along."

"That was the puzzle-piece demon." Willow explained.

"No weapon forged could kill him." Xander said.

"So we blew him up. Rocket launcher." Buffy said, and Jerome, Tania, and Carollyn's eyes grew wide. "Then there was that one demon Angel tried to bring back, the one that I had to kill Angel to prevent its re-awakening. Then there was the Mayor, again, not going into details on that one."

"I take it he was the politician?" Jerome asked.

"Yes."

"What kind of demon?"

"Politician." Xander joked. "Nah, I'm kidding. He was human, but he turned himself into this giant worm demon thing and destroyed the school. Buffy, you blew him up, too, didn't you?"

"I think so. Anyway, that was the end of High School. Then came college. Ugh. You know, I always heard college was supposed to be wild, but I never thought that meant literally. In college was the Initiative."

"Government agency." Willow said.

"But we actually worked _with_ them for a while." Buffy said.

"Until what's-her-face tried to kill you." Faith said.

"Right. Then, not so much. But, the Initiative created Adam, the demon hybrid, and we ended up having to literally rip out his heart to kill him, and the Initiative was kind of disbanded soon after that, so two threats in one. Then there was Dracula, but he wasn't the _biggest_ threat. He only lasted about an hour or so. But then came Glory. Hell God. I died again defeating her, and Willow brought me back. Umm... Willow, who was next?"

"There was that dancing demon!"

"Yeah, but he was like Dracula. He only lasted one episode of "A Day in the Life of Buffy and Friends"."

"Wordy title for a tv show." Xander said.

"Yeah. That's what FOX said when they turned down my pitch."

"After Glory was the Trio."

"Right! The nerds."

"Nerds?" Carollyn asked.

"Yeah. One of them was some kind of male witch, his name was... Jonathan! I actually kind of liked Jonathan. He was actually kind of likable. Then there was Warren."

"Warren." Willow growled, and Tara stroked her hair.

"What's she got against this Warren guy, specifically?" Jerome asked.

"He shot Tara. It was an accident, and it missed her heart by more than three inches, so the doctors got the bullet out and stitched her up, then sent her home, but she still can't even stand the thought of him." Buffy said. "The funny thing is, he was aiming for me. He figured that I've stood up to everything supernaturally possible, so he'd try a more... human way of killing me. Used a pistol. He missed me and shot Tara in the shoulder through the window. Apparently, she was bending down for something and that's when he got her."

Willow and Tara blushed. They'd told Buffy that Tara was bending down to pick up a crystal she'd dropped, but that was not exactly the case...

"Um... the third one was... Um..."

"Tucker's brother!" Xander blurted.

"Oh yeah! Um... Alex, was it?"

"I don't know. Sounds right."

"Well, anyway, they were kind of a threat for a while. More annoying, actually, but it was kind of refreshing for a break from the annual apocalypse. And I think that was the last one until the First, right?"

"I think so." Xander agreed.

"Well, finally, last year, Asmodeus came along. He took Willow, Tara, our friend, Kendra, and Dawn, my sister, then Faith traded herself for Willow. Willow's the most powerful witch we've got, so we needed her to do the spells and whatnot so we could save everyone. I fought Asmodeus for a little. I cut him to pieces, but he kept coming back. Finally, Willow cast a spell and started glowing all white and stuff, and she just kind of talked Asmodeus to death."

"I called on the goddess Aphrodite." Willow explained, and Tania seemed to get it.

"It makes sense. Aphrodite's the goddess of love, and love and lust are often mistaken for each other, but they're really polar opposites. Love is really the only thing that can overcome lust."

"The point is, there's always some big bad out there wanting to kill the Slayer, or all of the Slayers, rather. But that's not all. It only takes one mistake made. All a vamp, just a regular old vamp, needs is one good night. The Slayer makes a mistake, and the vamp kills them. The Slayer doesn't even need to make a mistake, actually. She can do everything perfectly, perfect precision, perfect balance, perfect technique, perfect awareness. The vampire can be the sloppiest vamp in history. All the vamp needs is to get lucky. Just a tiny bit of luck, and suddenly, the vamp's fangs are two inches deep in the Slayer's neck, draining the life out of her." Everyone was silent as Buffy finished. "So thinking that a little bit of training will make you invincible will get you killed. I thought that way once. It was just before I fought the Master. I thought that all vampires would run away screaming when the Slayer came for them, and my job would be easy. Go to school, learn, leave school, go stake a few vamps and be home by supper.

"But then my Watcher, Giles, read a prophecy about the Master. He said that the Master would kill the Slayer. But I fought him anyway, thinking I'd prove it wrong. I fought the master, and he killed me. He didn't just sink his fangs into my neck. He pushed me into a pool and drowned me. I was only dead for two minutes, but I was dead. It was long enough to call the next Slayer. That's how new Slayers used to be called. The previous one died, the next one was called. Just like that. The thing is, the Master was an old vampire. Very old. One of the oldest ones still undead. But he was still just a vampire. Just a vampire that could be killed with a stake through the heart, or a crucifix, or sunlight, or holy water, or even garlic. That's all. Just another vampire. And he killed me.

"In truth, it's not the demon hybrids, or hell gods, or superpowered nerds, or even the First Evil that you have to worry about. Those ones are lengthy threats, more time to strategize, more time to plan, make sure everything goes better. They're more dangerous than vamps, obviously, but there's more time to get everything right, figure out how to kill them, get the right tools and weapons, and even cast a spell or two. In truth, it's just the vamps you need to worry about. There's a never ending supply of vampires. You kill one and three more will spring up to take its place. And it only takes one to kill a Slayer. Just one lucky vampire."


	5. Chapter 5

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

Chapter 5-

Spike showed up the next night. As usual, Faith avoided him at all costs, and when she couldn't, she glared at him the whole time. She may have forgiven Buffy for her little romp with the re-ensouled vampire, but the re-ensouled vampire was different. The only reason he was still alive is because he and Faith had something in common. They'd both literally do anything to protect Buffy and her family. Screw dying for her, they'd kill for her. And they wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it, either.

"Hey Spike." Buffy said, and the vamp nodded, sensing Faith's presence across the room. "Why do you only ever come at night? Don't you still have that amulet Angel gave you?"

"Yeah I do, just a force of habit, is all. Can't seem to break it. Don't see as it matters much, though. Nothing really ever happens during the day, anyhow. All the fun stuff happens at night. Rather just stay in my crypt during the day and watch the telly. Anyway, what's with all the hurry? Normally, you call me up, if you do, and you just say 'Hey, what's up? Just called to say thanks for helpin' us with that last apocalypse.' Sounded urget, is all."

"It is. You're not going to believe this, though." Buffy stepped out of the doorway and let Spike see Jerome. Instantly, he knew Jerome was a vampire, and he was on alert. He whipped out his stake and put his game face on, literally, then lept at him. Buffy and Carollyn managed to pull him away just before his stake ended Jerome's afterlife.

"Bloody hell! I see you're just rollin' out the red carpet for any bleedin' thing that goes bump in the night, aren't you? Invitin' somethin' like him in so casually like that!"

"Spike, he has a soul."

"Oh. Right then. Guess that explains it, then. So, how?"

"Actually..." Willow said, "I don't think he ever lost it."

Spike, for once, was too stunned to speak.

"I think it had something to do with that spell I cast that called all of the Slayers around the world and woke them all up. I think it released so much benevolent energy that it affected Jerome because he was turned right as I cast the spell. It interfered with his transition somehow and stopped him from completely becoming a vampire. It allowed him to keep his soul. He's never killed a human before."

"Bloody hell." Spike whispered. "These vamps are rare."

"Rare? As in, there are more of them?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah there are more of them! What, you think your witch is the only one ever cast a spell powerful enough to do something like that? There have actually been experiments. People been turned into vampires by a spell, witches tryin' to figure that one out so maybe they could reverse it and find a cure for us, makeus human again. Well, it never worked. It only ever gave them vampire powers, never the whole nine yards. Sure, those spells were focused on one specific person, and they were tryin' to replicate the vampire transition, not prevent it, or create a new Slayer, but it happend, anyway.

"Human vamps are rare, but not unheard of. What's more, they're more powerful than regular vamps. Stronger, faster, and they've got powers other vamps dream about. Things like actually turning into bats and whatnot. Not all of them have that one, that's just an example. Plus, most of them don't have all the same weaknesses. Some of them can eat garlic. Some of them can actually become priests or somethin' and wear crucifixes around their neck, on their skin. Some of them can even go swimmin' in holy water. Then there are the ones who can go out in daylight without an amulet protectin' them. Call them daywalkers."

"Well, I've got all of those weaknesses. Garlic, crucifixes, holy water, sunlight, they all hurt like hell." Jerome informed him.

"What about a wooden stake through the chest?" Spike asked.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm only askin'. Have you ever been staked?"

"No! I'm still alive aren't I?"

"Matter of perspective. Just sayin', you might be immune to it. Be right lucky if you are. The sunlight thing, there are certain amulets powerful enough to stop us dyin' in sunlight, or from holy water. It's the stakin' that's still a problem. I've got the only one that stops a vampire dyin' entirely. I can go out in the sun. I can drink holy water. Not that I do, just sayin', could if I wanted to. And when I order a pizza, I make sure they put a ton of garlic on it. Haven't had garlic in a couple centuries, so I'm consumin' it by the ton. But I'm still just a regular old vamp. Without this amulet, I'd be normal, minus the soul."

"So, what all is different about me from other vamps? You seem to know a lot about these... human vampires."

"Like I said. Not all of them have ALL of the normal vamp weaknesses. They thirst for blood, but their conscious keeps them from attacking humans. Matter of fact, their conscious is so strong that even their natural survival instincts won't make them drink human blood. They'd die before attackin' a human, and it's happened before, too. Unless you were already a killer before you were turned, you're like those robots from that movie. You know the one? 3 Laws an' all that?" No one responded, even Willow. "Oh come on! Surely one of you has heard of I, Robot!"

Still no one responded.

"Okay, so there's these three laws of robotics in the movie. Law 1 is: A robot cannot harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Law 2 is: A robot may not disobey a direct order given it by a human being unless such order conflicts with the first law. Law 3 is: A robot must protect itself at all costs unless such protection conflicts with the first or second laws. Holds true for human vamps as well, every bit of it. That is, except for the must obey all orders. They've got free will, you know. But their conscious won't allow humans to be harmed if they can prevent it. I mean, most of them won't step out into sunlight or anythin' if they're not immune to it, but other than that, they'll do anything to protect them, just like a Slayer. And, just like in I, Robot, a human vamp will do anything to survive, except kill a human. If the human offers, that's different, but it's like rape, init? It's got to be consensual, or it won't happen. Just be careful of Slayer's blood, kid. Even to a human vamp, it's addictive. That's all I know, though. Not sure of anything else. I'll ask around a bit, if you want me to, Buffy, but I'm not sure what good it'll do."

"Well, actually, I just kind of called you up so maybe you could teach Jerome or something."

"Jerome, is it? Well, Jerome, there's nothin' really to teach. Everything is just instinctive. Don't really have anything else when you're a vamp. Just comes naturally. Don't have to learn to be a vamp. Just do it. Just stay alive, and if you're like me, which, as a human vamp, you are, you try your damnedest to protect the innocent. You know, even before I got my soul back, I was unusual."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, for one, I killed two Slayers myself. Not many vamps can claim that, can they? Well, now I suppose they can, but I mean from the way things used to be, when there was only one Slayer at a time. But that's not what I'm talkin' bout, and I ain't braggin' about that, either, it's just a fact. But not only have I killed two Slayers, I was also the first vampire who didn't have a soul to fall in love with one."

"What?!" Tania, Carollyn and Jerome all practically screamed.

"Yeah, and you bring it up at every opportunity, don't you?" Faith growled, stepping up behind Buffy, as if marking her territory. "Still hoping she might choose you after all, Fangs?"

"Faith..." Buffy warned.

"Wait a second, you fell in love with Buffy?" Jerome asked. "Wow. Big shocker when she ended up gay, huh?"

"Didn't stop her from taking a little romp in the sack with Ole Spike, did it?" Spike suddenly found a wooden stake protruding from his chest. Faith's stake. "Bloody hell!" He shouted.

"Oh, stop whining. It can't kill you anyway when you've got that ring on." Faith smirked.

"Yeah, but it still bleedin' hurts!" Spike slowly pulled the stake from his chest, wincing with every movement, then tossed it on the ground.

"I know." Faith smirked again, then backed off.

"Don't forget to tell them about the chip, Fangs." She said as she exited the room.

"Oh, you had to bring that up, did you?" He growled. "Fine then. Before I... you know, and back before I got my soul back, there was this little group of soldier boys workin' for the government. Captured me and put a soddin' chip in my head. Anytime I tried to hurt a human, I got this massive bleedin' headache. That's what started all this. Started killin' demons instead, just so I could still be violent. Teamed up with the Slayer and her pals a few times, then fell in love with her. Angel's soul was forced upon him with a gypsy curse. Anytime he'd have sex, he'd lose it again, though. But me, I sought my soul out willingly. I had to fight a bunch of demons, then some creature thing gave me back my soul. I can't lose it, no matter what. It's like I'm a human vamp, just with nothing special about me other than the soul. Least I don't have the bloody chip anymore, though."

Spike went home to his crypt about thiry minutes after he got to Buffy's house. Carollyn was given Dawn's room since it wasn't being used, and Jerome was put in the basement. Tania decided to stay with Carollyn rather than Jerome. After all, she wasn't all that ready to move in with him exactly.

Faith and Buffy sat up in bed late that night.

"Hey, B. Do you have a bad feeling about this?"

"About what?"

"Everything. I have a bad feeling that something bad's about to happen. Something very bad. Somehow, I just don't think Asmodeus was the only one like him. There might be others. I've actually had this feeling for a while now. So I started looking stuff up about him. Apparently, Asmodeus is known in the human world, too. He represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Ring a bell?"

"A very tiny one. Care to explain?"

"Well, apparently, there are seven specific sins that guarantee you a one-way trip to hell. At least, that's what the humans think. We both know that it's not all black-and-white like that. Anyway, they're known as the Seven Deadly Sins, or the Seven Mortal Sins. Asmodeus is supposed to represent the sin of Lust. That much is true, that we know. Anyway, the others are Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Envy and Pride."

"Pride?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Remember a while ago when we visited Dawn?"

"Yeah?"

"She said something about the lord of Pride or something."

"That does it. I think we've got another big bad on our hands. Just wonder when he's going to show himself." Faith said worriedly.

Meanwhile...

**[In Hell]**

"Envy, you know what to do." said the young demon lord from where he stood in the shadows, only his eyes seen gleaming. His pure white eyes. They terrified even Wrath.

"Yesssss, Lord Pride. Envy knowssssss what to do. Envy will not dissssssappoint you, Masssssssster." a small, hunched-over, frail and sickly olive green demon hissed. It had deep green eyes, and was nearly bald, a few long, thin strands of hair circling her crown. She walked, or rather crawled, on all fours, and wore only a small loincloth and a piece of ragged cloth over her right shoulder that covered her right breast, then continued down around her waist and partially covered her hips down to the middle of her thighs. She had three teeth in her entire mouth, all three of them razor sharp. Her limbs were long and thin, like twigs.

"I should hope not. I would not like to soil my hands with your blood, Envy. But I will not hesitate to do it if you fail. Actually, maybe I'll give you to Wrath instead. I know he's gone a while without having any fun." Now the young demon lord's teeth were visible as he sneered.

Envy shuddered at the thought, then scampered off.

"The Slayer 'Buffy Summers' will know the vengeance of Pride. I will face her and her loved ones with each of the seven sins. They will all falter, one by one, and they'll spend eternity in hell. In _my_ Hell. They'll rue the day they killed my father, even if he was a complete and utter fool." Lucipher whispered so only one other being could hear him.

"Yes, my lust. You will show them." A demoness approached him and kissed him, ravished his lips. "You'll tear them apart."

"First, I'd like to tear you apart, Lust." He grinned evilly.

"Oh, yes please." Lust replied, laying down in their bed and removing her dress.

**(Ominous theme plays in the background.) Well, here's chapter... (looks up at the top of the page for chapter number) five. Chapter five. I would have had Chapters 4 & 5 posted a lot sooner, but I've been having problems with my internet for the past month or so, so I haven't been able to. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

Chapter 6-

Buffy and Faith were lying in bed, thinking about what they'd learned that day. Human vamps, no losing souls, stronger, faster than normal vamps, consciouses? Things were wierd, even beyond what they were used to.

"Hey, B? What do you make of all this?"

"What, this Lord of Pride?"

"That, this kid, Jeromey, everything. What do you make of this?"

"I don't know what to make of it. I mean, for all we know, Jeromey might end up being immune to stakes through the chest. I don't think any of us are eager to find out, but if he is, that may make him very dangerous. I don't think I like it. But then again, Spike says there's no way he'd hurt a human, or let one come to harm, so he may actually be useful."

"Right, 'cause if 'William the Bloody' says it, it must be true, right?"

"Faith, would you leave him alone?"

"Buffy, the guy is a vampire. He's killed who knows how many people, including two Slayers. Not to mention, the dirtbag tried to fucking _rape_ you."

"Yeah, well, he's helped us on numerous occasions, or have you forgotten how he nearly died saving the world? He finished off the entire army of Uber-vamps by himself, saving my ass as well as yours and all the Potentials, not to mention the entire world. And he has to deal with that chip in his head, which I'm sure makes picking flowers a pain in the ass, not to mention the head."

"Real simple solution to that. Don't pick flowers." Faith growled.

"In any case, we all owe our lives to him. I'd say that's worth our trust."

"Whatever. Anyway, I still don't know if I completely trust this Jeromey kid. He's a vampire, even if he's never hurt a human, and he has his soul. Angel... Angel was okay... He looked out for me, you know? But that's the only reason he was ever okay in my book."

"Well, I can see nothing I say will ever convince you to trust Spike, but... just lay off him okay?"

"Fine. He stops making passes at you, stops hittin' on you, I'll stop stakin' him, deal?"

"Fine. Deal." Buffy sighed, though she was getting tired of Spikes advances on her herself.

Jeromy couldn't sleep that night. Then again, he didn't really need to sleep at all, so it wasn't really a problem. He got up and was pacing around the basement when the window to the outside world opened, and a pale face with white hair poked inside.

"Oi, you there, Boy Wonder, come 'ere." Spike said, and Jeromey crept closer.

"What?"

"Get out 'ere. Let's take us a little walk, why don't we?"

Jeromey jumped up and grabbed the window, then pulled himself up, throwing his legs over the windowsill without touching it. He landed on the ground and stood up.

"Where to?" He asked, and Spike grinned, his fangs showing. "And why does your face get all wrinkly?"

"Well, I'm a regular old vamp, you see. Since you're not, and you got interrupted durin' the transition, you're still part alive. Some part of you is holdin' onto life. See, I know a bit more about human vamps than I let on, but it's stuff I thought you should know, and you alone. 'Sides, Faith in there wasn't trustin' alot o' what I said. Figured I'd quit while I was only behind a little. Anyway, some part o' you somewhere is refusin' to let go o' life. It's still pumpin' away. I'm not talkin' 'bout your soul, that bit's obvious. I mean that some part o' you, an actual tangible part, is still alive, still doin' whatever it was doin' before this happened to you. Some part o' you is actually _alive_. That's what makes a human vamp special. But see, if it's damaged, then you die. See, that's your only real weakness. Sure, goin' in the sun hurts like hell, some human vamps are immune to it completely, but all of them can go in the sun without dyin'. They just need to build up a tolerance to it."

"Wait, you mean I can actually survive in sunlight?"

"Yeah. You'll burn a bit, but it's like gettin' sunburnt, you know? Like, you get out in the sun enough, and eventually, you'll start gettin' used to it, and you won't burn as easy. You start to tan instead. Same as with holy water. It's like alcohol, though. Your first drink, and you gag 'cause it burns goin' down, and you don't like it. Then you take another drink, same thing. But you drink enough, and it becomes second nature. Holy water's the same thing, so I've heard. Only, you don't get drunk off it. It becomes just water to you."

"How do you know all of this if you're just a regular vampire?"

"'Cause I've known human vamps. They all say the same thing. 'Course, with this many Slayers now, all over the world, most human vamps are dead, 'cause they're killed before they can explain. But that's why it's good you got in good with this lot. See, Faith, Kendra and Buffy are the two that've been Slayers the longest that are alive now. Them and a few newer girls fought off the First Evil. Kinda made them famous. You're under their protection, you're safe from anyone connected to the Slayer organization. It's one reason I'm still around. See, I saved their arses a couple times. They basically just call up all the other Slayers on the phone an' say 'Hey, don't kill this bloke' an' you're safe. Just like that. See, you got lucky you met them when you did. If anyone else had come across you, found out you were a vamp, you'd be a pile of dust in the wind by now for sure.

"But now you've got their curiousity, and the longer you remain a mystery, the more likely you'll gain their trust, and their protection. But until then, you gotta act like you know nothin' 'bout what you are."

"Shouldn't be too hard."

"Well, now, you know more than they do, and I wouldn't go braggin' 'bout that if I were you. Now, let's get goin'." Spike grabbed Jeromey by the arm and started dragging him off.

"Ow! What the hell? Let go of me!" Jeromey said, and punched Spike in the face, sending him flying back into a tree.

"Right then." Spike said, wiping some blood from his mouth. "All you had to do was ask nicely. Come on, follow me."

Spike started walking away, and Jeromey followed him all the way to a cemetary.

"What are we doing here?" Jeromey asked.

"We're gonna kill us some baddies." Spike said gleefully, and his face changed again, back to the wrinkly vampire face.

"Um... okay. Why?"

"Because they're bad, we're good, we're savin' lives, and it's fun. Don't need another reason."

"Okay... Just thought there was some other reason. Some kind of excuse I could give Buffy and them when they find out I was out at night without their supervision."

"Oh, don't worry about that. They're supervisin' you, alright. Can't you smell them? They heard me talkin'outside, saw us, an' tailedus from the house. They're not as sneaky as they think." Spike said quietly, chuckling.

"If we were trying to be sneaky, you'd never have smelled, heard, or otherwise noticed us." Buffy said. "We just felt it was rude to interrupt your conversation. So why didn't you tell us what you knew earlier? That part of him is still alive?"

"Well, like I said, your girlfriend over there-"

"Wife."

"Right then. Your wife over there wouldn't have believed me, anyway, and I didn't feel like dealin' with more o' her comments, 'specially since she bloody staked me."

"You deserved it." Faith muttered.

"Anyway, I'm tryin' to impart a little wisdom on Mr. Dead Ringer over 'ere, so if you don't mind..." Spike pushed Jeromey forward when and arm shot out of the ground.

"You know, I've never seen one come up before." Jeromey said, gulping.

"Oh, don't worry. Just comin' up, they ain't ate yet, so they're weaker than they'd be fresh after a kill. Plus, you're stronger than they'd be, anyhow."

"I don't know. A rat yesterday is the onlything I've eaten in weeks." Jeromey said.

"Bloody Hell, I didn't know that." Spike growled. "Quick, looks like Fresh-Outta-The-Grave's stuck. Find yourself a squirrel or something. Just grab a quick snack, and would you mind gettin' me one while you're at it? I like my squirrel rare. Extra rare." Jeromey rolled his eyes, but found a squirrel, and ate quickly.

"I said find me one." Spike growled when Jeromey came back.

"They were fresh out." Jeromey chuckled. Just as the newlydead managed to get unstuck, and dug his way all the way out of the ground.

The vamp charced them, and Jeromey's face morphed. It wasn't as grotesque as Spike's, in fact, it more closely resembled the face of a classic movie vampire, just a regular human face with fangs and dark eyes. Jeromey's eyes, usually green, were now red, and the whites of his eyes were a light yellow in color. His fangs protruded from his upper jaw, and he clutched his face. It had actually hurt when they came out.

"Damn it, I'll never get used to that." He said, and fell backwards as the newlydead punched him and clawed his face, leaving gashes across his right eye and nose. Jeromey growled and attacked.

He struck out with a fist and the vamp's head snapped backwards, breaking it's neck, and Jeromey broke a branch and stabbed it through the vamps heart, turning it into a pile of dust.

"Damn. That was quick." Faith mumbled. "He didn't even toy with it for a bit."

"Faith..." Buffy sighed, "not everyone gets off on slaying."

"Nah, everyone gets off on slaying. It's just you still won't admit it. But you can see it in his eyes. I think he's just never done it before. Hasn't decided what kind of Slayer he wants to be. Does he want to let the vamp do most of the work, tire itself out while he just blocks and dodges? Does he want to just wail on the vamp until it makes a mistake and he gets through its guard and he kills it? Does he want to do it fast and move on to the next? Does he want to just go with the flow and do what feels right in the moment? Or does he want to letthe vamp think it's winning, get its confidence up, then move in for the kill? So many choices, and he's only just finding it out."

"Faith, drop it, will you? He may not like it."

"When're you gonna listen? Everyone likes it. It's addictive. That's the real reason we can never stop slaying. It's 'cause, deep down inside, no matter what we say otherwise, no matter how much we wish we could retire, we just don't want to. We don't _want_ to stop. It's in our blood. It's an itch, and if we don't scratch it, we'll go insane."

Buffy would never admit it. She'd never admit that deep down, Faith was right. Buffy loved it, and she hated that.

"Well, looks like we're all gonna get a piece of the action." Buffy said grimly as vampires approached from every direction, as though the Slayers, Spike and Jeromey had walked right into an ambush.

"So, looks like the Slayers have recruited a new guy." One of the vamps said. "So what does it take to join the gang?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well, not much, but a conscience might help." Buffy retorted, and the vampires all sneered. Spike had his "mask" on now, and a stake in each hand. Jeromey was brandishing the branch he'd broken as a spear, and both Buffy and Faith reached for their stakes. Only to come out empty handed.

"Crap. I'm naked, how 'bout you, B?" Faith asked.

"Damn. Me too."

"Here, Slayer!" Spike shouted, and tossed one of his stakes to Buffy.

"What about Faith?" Buffy asked.

"Don't know what to tell you." Spike said as he staked one of the enemy vamps, his arm now coated with dust as he whipped around and kicked another one in the side of the head, following through with the stake being thrust between the vamp's ribs.

Jeromey swung his makeshift spear around and cracked a few of them on the head, leaving them disoriented, then thrust it forward repeatedly to catch them all in the hearts with the spear tip.

Buffy and Faith switched back and forth. One of them would fight a vamp or two until they got an opening, then the other would toss the stake to her so she could take them out while the other one fought for an opening with one or more other vamps.

But then things started to go south. A vamp dodged Jeromey's spear and broke it in half, then sent the branch flying away, leaving Jeromy without a weapon. Spike had to stake the vamp himself, but five more swarmed the two ensouled vamps and incapacitated them while the other fifteen or so took on the Slayers. When Buffy tossed the stake back to Faith, another vamp caught it instead, leaving both Slayers defenseless.

Faith managed to knock a couple vamps back against a sharp tree branch and kill them, but there were too many other vamps, and she ended up underneathe one as it tackled her and tried to eat her, her Slayer strength barely able to keep his face far enough away from her.

Faith couldn't see anything past the vampire on top of her, but her strength nearly gave out in surprise as she heard Buffy scream, fearing the worst. Then, Faith's arms were straight, and she breathed in a mouthful of vamp dust as her would-be killer disintegrated, and a stake landed on her chest. _Her _stake.

"I thought you might be able to use some help." Carollyn said as she staked another vampire with her own stake, and freed Buffy from the two vampires holding her down with Buffy's stake. She tossed Buffy's stake to the blonde Slayer, and recieved thanks. The three Slayers were a whirlwind as they took out each of the remaining vamps, and Faith felt a familiar feeling. She was too into the moment. She could barely distinguish between friend and foe. Buffy knew enough to stay away from her, and the blonde held Carollyn back. Spike was safe as long as he had the amulet on, there was only one other person she needed to watch out for.

Buffy vaguely heard someone scream as she plunged her stake into Jeromey's heart.

He had a look of pain in his eyes for a moment, then his flesh turned an ashy gray as his body began to turn to dust, leaving behind his white skeleton, which quickly disintegrated as well.

Buffy could barely keep Carollyn back, even with her Slayer strength. The teenage blonde Slayer was screaming in grief, even worse than she had when she saw that vampire kill her brother the first time. Losing her brother once was terrible, but twice...

She fell to her knees and tried to crawl away from Buffy. Buffy let her go, and she picked up a handful of her brother's dust, hugging it to her chest, screaming his name.

Even Spike shed a tear for him. He had only met Jeromey earlier that day, but he had already grown to like him. Spike had actually almost begun to feel like an older brother or something.

"Damn." He said, and he wiped his face dry on the black leather coat.


	7. Chapter 7

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

Chapter 7-

Buffy and Faith watched Carollyn train in the basement for hours. It had been almost a week since her brother was staked by Faith, and the fire that had been in her eyes had not yet even begun to return. She punched and kicked the dummies, and knocked them over. She could easily win a fight against most mortal men, but she didn't have the spirit anymore.

Well, they hadn't known her long, but in the way she had carried herself with confidence and the way she talked showed them that she had had a fire inside her almost as hot, if not hotter, as Buffy's or Faith's.

Carollyn punched the bag again, and something inside her clicked. She probably felt Faith's presence, because the punching bag ended up on the other side of the basement, the chainit ad been suspended from ripped from the ceiling.

Faith started forward to apologise for the thousandth time, but Buffy held her back and shook her head.

"It'll do more harm than good. She'll attack you, and you'll have to either let her win, or fight back. If you let her win, she'll just get even angrier, and if you fight back, you'll win, and she'll still get angrier."

Faith nodded.

"You know what really hurts?" Carollyn asked, having heard Buffy talking to Faith. She didn't wait for an answer. "The fact that my brother did nothing but good all his life and even in his undeath. And no one here but me, Tania and that other vampire with a soul are upset by it at all. Not even the one who accidentally killed him. Not the witches, not Buffy, not you." Carollyn said, and Faith realised she was talking to her.

"I..." Faith started to say, but thought better of it, remembering Buffy's warning.

"I get that it was an accident. That you really didn't mean to. Yeah, I'm mad that my brother's dead. I'm mad that I got him back after dying, only to lose him again. But I'm not mad that you killed him. I've slayed vampires before. In cemetaries around town, before I met you. I know what it's like to get caught up in the moment and not be able to tell one vampire from another. If Jerome wasn't faster than me, I'd have killed him on accident a long time ago. No, what's got me really pissed is that a _demon_ can mourn my brother when he'd only spent five seconds with him before, but the supposedly saint Slayers, protectors of the innocent, can't. My brother was a vampire, but he was an innocent. He was every bit as much a Slayer as me, or either of you. And you don't even care that you killed him."

Carollyn wouldn't look at Faith when she talked, and Faith couldn't blame her. She'd killed the girl's brother. She looked to Buffy for help, but the blonde was gone. The message was clear: _You have to handle this one yourself._

"Um..." Faith started when Carollyn didn't say anything else. She walked forward and stood in front of the younger girl, looking her in the eyes. "Listen... It's not that I don't care... I do. It sucks. It's just..."

"If you're about to go all 'everyone has their own way of dealing' on me, then just forget it. Don't say it."

_Shit. There goes half of my little monologue. _"Well... It's true, but you don't wanna hear it. I get that. I'll respect it. Uh... Listen, I... I've killed someone before."

Carollyn's eyes grew wide at the revelation.

"Yeah. It's true. Same thing happened then that happened to... to your brother. I got caught up in the moment. I staked a few vamps. Well, it was me _and_ B. We slew a few vamps, and we were both turnin' around to take one out that jumped out at us from the shadows, but Buffy stopped for some reason. I was kinda surprised when the thing my stake just went through the heart of didn't dust up and fade. Instead, I was lookin' at the face of Deputy Mayor Allan Finch. A fuckin' human." Faith teared up at the memory. "I freaked out. I sank the body in the river, thinkin' no one would ever find it. When the body was found, I tried to pin the blame on B. I was fucked up in the head then, not thinkin' clearly. I had human blood on my hands. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror. Well, I couldn't frame B. It didn't work. They figured it out, and the Council tried to arrest me. I escaped, and turned on B and the others."

"You what?"

"Yeah." Faith chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, remember that mayor B was tellin' you about? One who wanted to be a demon?"

Carollyn nodded.

"Well, I joined up with him for a while. Tried to kill Angel to distract B. Used this poison with no cure, knowin' she wouldn't give up until she found one."

"And she did." Carollyn said, remembering Buffy mentioning that Angel had only died the past year.

Faith nodded. "Turns out, it does have _one_ cure. Slayer blood."

Carollyn gasped, understanding the implication.

"Yeah. Naturally, she wasn't about to kill herself. Not when there was a rogue Slayer on the loose, not to mention a politician literally becoming a demon. She was needed. So she came for me instead. Was gonna kill me to feed me to her pet vampire. Truth is, I think I actually wanted her to. Maybe redeem myself. But my survial instincts kicked, and we ended up tryin' to kill each other." Faith choked up, her tears rolling down the side of her face. "I was gonna kill her. Anyway, she won. Stabbed me in the gut with my own knife."

Faith pulled her shirt up over her stomach, showing the scar across her gut.

"She still to this day thinks I jumped off that building to keep my blood away from Angel. But really, I just stumbled and fell over the edge. I fell into the back of a truck that was passin' by, and the guy never noticed. So, B ended up havin' to feed herself to Angel. He didn't drain her enough to kill her, though, just put her in the hospital. The Mayor found my body, and I was still barely alive, so he brought me to the hospital, but I was in a coma for eight months. B killed the Mayor, and I woke up eight months later, then attacked her in her own home, and switched bodies with her. She took the fall for my actions, and I was gonna get away with everything, livin' her life. Well, she got away, and the gang figured out what happened, and I just happened to be savin' a bunch of people in a church from a bunch of vamps. She walked in and we finished the vamps off, then we fought each other again. I won that time, and I started beatin' her up bad. Thing is, I wasn't actually beatin' her up. I was lookin' down at her. Seein' my body. I saw myself. My face. The face of a killer. A traitor. A monster. I was tryin' to kill myself. I'm straddlin' my waist, wailin' on myself, screamin' the whole time.

"B ended up switchin' us back, and I ran. She found me one time in LA, though. I was stayin' with Angel for a while after I tried to get him to kill me. He refused, sayin' I had to earn redemption. So I started, but then B showed up. We fought again, and she won. I thought she was gonna kill me at first, but then she just kinda let me be. I tried to apologize, hopin' that somehow, it would at least start to make everythin' right between us. But she wouldn't let me. Refused to listen. No, instead, she said three words I'd never realised I wanted to hear, but at the same time, they tore my whole world up."

"What'd she say?"

"I loved you. That was it. She just said 'I loved you'. At first, I was thrilled. Buffy had feelings for me. And I realised that that was the truth about me. I was in love with her, too. But then I caught the past tense. I think she was a bit surprised when I doubled over, screamin' like I was in pain. Which I was. It actually hurt me physically to realised I fucked up my chance to be happy. She ended up kneelin' by me, tryin' to get me to calm down, but I couldn't feel her. I was trapped in this little world all my own where nothin' existed but me, and it hurt to be alone. Then, something happened I never expected, and I think it surprised her just as much as it did me. She pulled me up and kissed me. I mean, she _really_ kissed me." Faith smiled, remembering that first kiss. "Anyway, the point is, I was really torn up about killing those people. It destroyed me, and I didn't know if I'd ever make it back to the light. Right now, I'm just barely managing to not fall apart. I know your brother was innocent. Don't think it's not eatin' at me that I killed him. He may have been your big brother, but he was still just a kid. I killed a fuckin' kid."

Carollyn looked in Faith's eyes and saw the agony she was truly in over it. Tears came again, and she could see the rage Faith was barely managing to contain.

"If I let any of my anger out right now, I'm gonna end up doin' somethin' I'll regret, and I don't wanna do anythin' else I regret. Not after I killed a kid. I get that you miss your brother, and that it hurts, watchin' him die every night when you go to sleep..." Faith said, her eyes knowing. "But imagine watchin' it from my view. Imagine watchin' him not only die, but watchin' yourself kill him every night."

Without a word, knowing that no words could comfort either of them, Carollyn walked up to Faith and hugged her, as much comforting herself as she was Faith.

Buffy started to walk through the door again, making sure both Faith and Carollyn were still alive, and she smiled as she watched them hugging and sobbing into each other's shoulders.

But then she watched in horror as a small green demon appeared out of nowhere and attacked Faith and Carollyn. Faith pushed the young girl out of the way just in time, but even her lightning-fast reflexes couldn't stop herself from getting hit. The demon had long claws that stabbed into its victim, and Faith felt the tips deep in her chest. Yet, somehow, they'd missed her heart, and she was horrified to see why.

"Buffy!" She screamed as she saw the blonde standing between her and the green demon, her stake buried in its chest, green blood spilling from its heart

"Massssssster Pride! Envy hasssssss killed one of the SSSSSSSSSlayerssss!" The monster shouted gleefully, then jumped away from Buffy. When Faith saw its chest, there was no more wound, but Buffy's was all too real. Ten holes in her chest and her back where blood was spilling freely, directly through her heart. Buffy had taken the attack herself. Her body got in the way, and the claws of the brute only penetrated Faith slightly, not deep enough to actually get her heart, but deep enough that she'd definitely felt them.

But it didn't matter. Faith's heart shattered as she watched Buffy slump to the ground.

She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't see. She couldn't look away from her wife's body as the blood spilled from it, her life slipping away.

Willow and Tara burst into the room with Dawn as Envy tried to get away, but Tara and Dawn cast some kind of trap spell that immobilized the demon, and Willow rushed to Buffy's side.

She put her hands over Buffy, and her eyes went white, like they usually did now when she was using powerful magic. White lightning shot from her hands to Buffy, and the holes started to slowly close up. Finally, after more than five minutes, Willow slumped over, nearly unconscious. The holes weren't gone, but they were scabbed over so she wasn't bleeding anymore.

"I... healed... her... mostly... internally..." Willow said between gasps for air. "Should... survive..."

Faith snaped out of her stupor and fell to her knees beside Buffy, sobbing even harder than she had been before the demon attacked.


	8. Chapter 8

Scooby Gang vs. Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride

Chapter 8-

Buffy looked so small in bed. So weak. So vulnerable. Faith sat by the bed, desperately awaiting the moment when Buffy would wake up. It had been two days since the attack, and Buffy was still unconscious. Carollyn walked in suddenly, startling Faith, causing her to jump up, knife in one hand, stake in the other.

"Oh. It's you." Faith said.

"Yeah. Just me." Carollyn walked in, carrying a tray of food. Eggs, bacon, toast, sausage and gravy all set out in front of her. "Figured you might be getting hungry soon, and you wouldn't want to leave. So I had Tania fix you something for me to bring up."

"Thanks." Faith said, sitting down. Carollyn set the tray on the dresser at the foot of the bed.

"Whenever you want it." She said, turning to walk away.

"Thanks. And... um... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Faith's eyes were glistening with tears, proving her sincerity, and showing her worry.

"I... I can't say it's okay." Carollyn replied. "But I do forgive you. It wasn't your fault. I know that. It was an accident."

Faith nodded. They went through this conversation every time they were alone in the same room together. It was becoming almost a tradition.

She absentmindedly twisted the wedding band on her finger. The proof of her love for Buffy. And of Buffy's love for her.

"I'm sorry, too." Carollyn said, noticing the turning ring.

Faith blinked. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she did so. "For what? What do you have to be sorry for?"

"For... I don't know... Getting in your way. If I'd been paying attention,like you've been trying to teach me, then I would have reacted sooner, and gotten out of that thing's way. You wouldn't have had to push me out of the way, and Buffy wouldn't have had to jump in front of it to save you. That demon thing might be dead, and none of us would have gotten hurt."

"That's a lot of 'ifs'. Haven't you ever heard the phrase '"If" is the biggest two-letter word in the dictionary'? Look, things might have ended that way, or things could have been worse. Truth is, if you'd been payin' attention, and jumped out of its way, then it might've gone for me, Buffy still would've jumped in and taken the hit, only Red might not have gotten there in time to heal her. Or worse, Red might have ended up getting hit instead, and no one would've been powerful enough to save her, and we'd be minus a witch, a healer, and a friend. Let's just count ourselves lucky that no one was killed. Oh, and speakin' of Red, she was up here earlier, askin' if I'd seen ya. She sounded pretty excited about somethin', but wouldn't tell me what. Why don't you go ask her. Seems to me, we could all use a bit of good news."

Carollyn nodded before heading off to go find Willow.

Faith turned her head just enough to look at Buffy's face.

_Come on, B. Wake up, babe._ She thought, pleading with the comatose blonde.

...

"Willow? You wanted to see me?" Carollyn asked when she got up to the attic. The attic had become almost a wiccan laboratory, or whatever witches called their lairs. Scattered out over a table was an array of books on certain spells, different ingredients for rituals, research notebooks on demons, and a book on symbology. One of the books was closed on top of the pile, its title very legible.

_Resurrection: Reviving the Art of Necromancy?_ Carollyn asked herself. _A book on resurrection spells?_

"Oh, there you are, Carollyn!" Willow exclaimed when she walked back in.

"Um... yeah. You wanted to see me?"

"Oh! Right! Um... I've been doing some research on that little green thing you and Faith described, the one that attacked you guys, and got Buffy, and I think I might have found it. I've got a picture in a book somewhere. I need you to take a look at it and see if you can identify it, okay?"

"Oh. Sure. I mean, I barely got a good look at it, but I'll try."

"Well, Faith got a better look, but I... um..."

"Right. Don't want to bother her. I get it."

"Exactly." Willow said, relieved. She shuffled through the books on the table, swiping aside the resurrection book, as if trying to hide it, then found what she was looking for. "Here it is."

Carollyn looked at the page the book was open to, and read it to herself.

_Leviathan, also known by the name of the fourth of the seven deadly sins: Envy, is a mid-class upper-level demon representing the sin of Envy itself. As do the others who, like Leviathan, represent one of the seven deadly sins, the sin Leviathan represents is the basis for it's appearance and personality. As such, since the sin of Envy is symbolized by the color green, Leviathan is seen as a small, frail demon with a green skin tone, and appears to be inferior to its cousins in every way. There is no known way to kill Leviathan, just as there is no known way to kill any of the other Seven Sin Demons, though the demon's power over a host may be exorcized through the practice of one of the seven virtues. Each of the seven deadly sins has a corresponding holy virtue used to combat it. Anyone possessed by Envy should be made to practice the virtue of kindness (benevolentia) in order to exorcize Leviathan's power over the possessed._

Below the information was a picture of a thin, almost skeletal demon, with a disgusting, dirty shade of green colored skin, very thin, grey hair, and long arms and legs. What few teeth it had in its mouth were razor-sharp, and it wore only a loincloth to cover itself. It was hunched over, supporting itself weakly with all four limbs. It was definitely the demon that attacked Buffy.

"Well?" Willow asked.

"Like I said, I didn't get a good look at it, but this is definitely the one that almost killed Buffy."

"Good. Then now we have something to go on with research." Willow smiled.

"Was that all?" Carollyn asked, wondering about the book on resurrection.

"Yeah. That's all. Would you tell Faith we identified the demon?"

"Oh. Sure." Carollyn replied, then walked away, very confused and curious about the book.

...

"Leviathan, huh? Another one of the seven deadly sins?"

"Yeah. Guess so. Wait, another one?"

"Yeah. Haven't you heard of the seven dealy sins?"

"Um... yeah. Just a few minutes ago."

Faith sighed. "Well, I'm not big into research, or anythin', but my first Watcher, she was somewhat of an expert on the seven deadly sins, and the demons that represent them. She insisted I learn what she knew about them, and I remember a bit of it. There are seven sins that guarantee ya a one-way ticket to Hell if ya commit them. At least, that's what religion tells people. As Slayers, we know it's not all black and white like that. Anyway, the sins are: Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Pride, Lust and Envy. They're each represented by one of seven extremely powerful demons known as the Seven Princes of Hell. They're supposed to be the sons and daughters of the First itself. At least, that's what Diana, my first Watcher, told me. One of the Seven Princes attacked last year. His name was Asmodeus, and he, or she, dependin' who looked at him, represented the sin of Lust."

"Asmodeus." Carollyn realized. "He's the-"

"Yeah." Faith interrupted. "Big, bad rapist demon. I get the picture."

Carollyn remembered that Faith herself had been taken by Asmodeus. Obviously, there were some bad memories still unresolved.

"I... I'm sorry." Carollyn said. "I... I didn't mean to..."

"Yeah. I know. Sorry for snappin'. Just... I don't think B knows this, but I still have nightmares about her. Asmodeus, I mean, not B. She really fucked me up. In more ways than one."

"Wait, you saw Asmodeus as a girl? I thought you liked guys _and_ girls."

"Yeah. I do." Faith muttered. She winced as she remembered the specific form Asmodeus had taken with her.

"Then... shouldn't he have, like, shifted back and forth between male and female?"

"No. See, Asmodeus only took the form of his victim's ideal mate. Something the victims considers to be the perfect mate for themselves. It could look like anything. Like... one of those stereotype nerdy guys from tv might see a really tall, tan, hot, blonde girl with humongous breasts, a big ass, and very low standards. Basically, everything you never knew you always wanted in a mate, that's what Asmodeus would look like to you."

"What did he look like to you?"

"She. He was a she for me. At first, she shifted around, lookin' like everyone I'd ever slept with, whether I remembered them or not, but she settled on a girl." Carollyn noticed Faith's eyes were darting all around the room right now, like she was just making sure Asmodeus wasn't going to just jump out at her and take her again.

"Then what did _she_ look like?" Carollyn asked. "I mean... unless you want to just... keep it to yourself."

"Nah... I mean, I've been seein' a shrink ever since then. One who knows all about demons, so I don't have to cover anythin' up. Anyway, the shrink says it's best if I talk about my... my time as... as Asmodeus' whore... Anyway... Um... She... She looked like... Well... She was blonde. Long, flowin', straight blonde hair. She was shorter than me, but not by much, and she still looked like she could kick my ass. She was thin, but not, like, anorexic or anythin'. She was well buil, like muscular. She had this... kinda 'better than thou' kinda face, but it's somethin' I actually found kinda sexy. She was only a little darker than me, like she had this kinda permanent tan goin' on from bein' under the sun all the time. She..." Faith couldn't go on. She couldn't say it out loud. Not the name of Asmodeus' favorite form to torture her with. She just couldn't do it. She still flinched sometimes when Buffy touched her, and the blonde had no idea why. It was something she'd only ever told her shrink.

"She looked like Buffy, didn't she?" Carollyn whispered.

Faith nodded instead of replying verbally.

"How... How close?"

Faith's eyes showed the torture. If there had been any differences at all, it would be so much easier to get over. But Asmodeus had looked _exactly_ like Buffy in every way. Everything but the eyes. Those eyes haunted Faith just as much as the body did.

"Everythin' but the eyes. Those were all Asmodeus'." Faith growled.

"Oh my god. I... I'm so sorry... I had no idea."

"Yeah... You know... Buffy doesn't know that. I don't want her to know. She _can't_ know, understand?" Faith said forcefully.

"It'll never cross my lips." Carollyn swore.

"Good. You know... I... I still... sometimes... when we... you know... Sometimes, I still... She comes back, and I can almost see those evil red eyes in Buffy's face... It... I can barely stand to have my own wife touch me." Faith bent over, sobbing.

Carollyn sat down on the floor in front of Faith, holding her while she cried. And Buffy chose that moment to wake up.

"F... F-Faith?" Buffy stammered weakly, slowly opening her eyes.

"Buffy!" Faith exclaimed, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, then leaned over and kissed Buffy. For the first time, Carollyn noticed the tension in Faith's lips as she kissed the older blonde, saw the struggle in her eyes, but also the relief that Buffy was alive.

"Why were you crying?" Buffy asked as soon as Faith pulled away to breathe.

"Oh..." Faith hesitated, then looked over her shoulder at Carollyn. "Just been an emotional week, is all." She looked back at Buffy. "Apologized again for killin' her brother, and we just... I missed ya, B. You've been out for a couple days. Was kinda worried you wouldn't wake up for a long time. Thought maybe it was your turn to take an eight-month nap." Faith joked humorlessly.

"Oh." Buffy didn't really believe her, it was something deeper than that, but she didn't push.

"I'm just really glad you're awake, B." Faith said with a smile, and kissed her again.


End file.
